The Long Road
by brickbatz
Summary: Post-Dirge of Cerberus, Reno-centric slash fanfiction. Rated for language, sex, violence. On permanent hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**The Long Road** **–** A post-Dirge Vincent,Reno&Cloud Fanfiction  
_the battle will never be over, no matter how many times you end the story._

Disclaimer: SQEX owns the characters, the history, and the world. The plot is my own. If I catch you stealing, I will bash your head in with a long metal pole. Don't underestimate me; I have done this to someone before.

Note: Don't question why they're playing Texas Hold'em when there's no Texas in FF7. They're doing it 'cause I told them to.

1--

Lighting up a cigarette, I leaned over the railing outside Healin lodge and took a deep breath of the cool evening air. A bottle of brew swung absently from one hand, my chin rested in the other as I surveyed the rocky path beneath us winding down the mountain face. We'd been located here for such a long time now I could almost call it home, and I would, if it didn't just feel so far-fetched to me. Coming from Sector 7, way, way back before I'd dropped a massive block of concrete on the thing, I found the city and this rocky mountain outcrop were worlds apart and three years just wasn't enough time to adapt. That wasn't to say I couldn't enjoy a cloudless summer night and the beautiful, moonlit scenery below me.

Most people who know me, or know of me because not many people really know me at all - it comes with the territory - would tell you that I don't take anything seriously. There's a little truth in that accusation, but only a little. I don't value much, besides my job, my life and the close-knit gang of Turks I have to put up with daily and would almost call friends. Oh hell, we're like a family. No friends fight as much as we do. That's not to say I'm shallow though; maybe I do like women and cigarettes and cheap booze, and prefer to breeze my way through life that put any recognizable effort into anything but I can still appreciate true beauty and shit. Anyone who couldn't look out over the chalk mountainside and thriving greenery under this blue star-littered sky at 25 years old and not appreciate it has to be insane. The beer and cigarettes were just a bonus. This was definitely something I'd never see in Midgar.

Most people in Midgar – or rather, in Edge, as central Midgar was still in shambles – knew that we were hiding out now. It was common knowledge that the President was still alive and kicking since he'd thrown himself out the side of a building in Edge a year ago, firing rounds at Jenova's trophy head while he fell. Many people still didn't believe it and most people didn't _like_ it but Rufus was alive regardless. Luckily, most of the few who knew _where_ we were hiding kept their mouths shut. Remind me to add keeping secrets to the increasingly long, annoying list of things AVALANCHE were good for, along with saving the world and all that.

Said ex-terrorist group seemed to no longer have a problem with our existence which settled just fine with me. They weren't even questioning what we were up to, which was also good because any answer I could have given them wouldn't have sounded believable. The president could deliver hour-long speeches on his change of heart and how he wanted to save the world now too, but they'd fall on deaf ears and so it was just easier to keep our activities to ourselves. Being on the brink of death more than once had humbled Rufus Shinra, somehow, and I had a feeling he was quite happy being the silent hero now.

Needless to say, most of my work nowadays was either playing bodyguard to the President when leaving the lodge was absolute necessity, or running errands anonymously. It got quite frustrating, because it made me feel old and obsolete, and 25 was definitely not old in my book. It did give me more time to drink though, and wallow away in a deep pit of self-evaluation. It was not something I enjoyed doing, but I found myself doing so more and more often as the weeks turned to months, which had slipped by unnoticed and turned to years.

This wasn't one of those 'what am I doing with my life?' moments, don't get me wrong, because I will always be content with my job and my lot in life; there was no way I couldn't be with the sorry history I had under my belt. Just because I don't hold everything in highest regard, doesn't mean I'm not content. It was more like feeling that something was missing; an empty space I had no idea how to fill. It was easy enough to put it down to the recent mediocrity of my job, and say it was just the thirst for action and adventure that I could feel, but after doing that for six months, the analogy lost it's allure. If nothing else, the feeling was something to dwell on as I wasted away every nice night like this one alone, as always.

I took a sip of my beer and a drag on my cigarette, and then another sip just because I could and there was really nothing else in the world I had to be doing right that moment. This relaxing thought made me feel old, too. I didn't want to feel like I was going into retirement this young. I was only a quarter of the way through my life, or at least I hoped as much! I was fit, healthy – if you ignore the two things I was currently indulging in – and untroubled. I'd heard somewhere that was the recipe for a long, happy life. If I didn't get it, I'd march on into the lifestream and complain to the editor about false leads. Or something.

Taking another drag and another sip in turn, I glanced back towards the lodge and considered a game of chess with Rude. It was hardly my favourite pastime, especially with the big guy because he was something of a genius behind those sunglasses – so much so, I sometimes wonder if behind the thick skin of his, he's really a robot but I don't really want to go into why I entertain such childish thoughts – but I was getting _bored_ and bothered by every minute I was left alone with my thoughts. I didn't want to 'dwell'. Dwelling was for old men and women who were past their sell-by-date.

Self-assured enough to know that I wasn't past _my_ sell-by-date, I pushed the thought aside. Rude always won anyway, and I always got fidgety and tried to cheat when I thought he was looking at something else. For lack of any else to do, I finished the last few mouthfuls of my beer and tossed the bottle into the bushes below. I watched down into the darkness, and smiled at the satisfying smash that followed as it hit the chalk mountainside before I headed inside to find myself another drink.

Rude wasn't in the lounge room, nor was Tseng. Elena sat with her bare feet up on the couch, channel-hoping, her pretty face illuminated by the blue light of the TV in the dark room. Rufus was in his armchair, asleep behind his newspaper, which would have made me laugh if it hadn't made me frown anxiously. Here I was, telling myself that I wasn't old and there Rufus was, a whole year my junior, sleeping in his chair like an old geezer. It wasn't fair!

Shooting a small smile of recognition towards Elena to match her own, I headed through the lodge without a word to the kitchen in pursuit of another beer or perhaps something stronger, if we had it.

Healin lodge, I decided, was like the countryside home of an aunt and uncle you might visit as a child; not that I'd ever had one. Everything was a little too close quartered and _rustic_ for me to ever feel truly comfortable and I mused that perhaps this was why it still didn't feel like home after three years. I would be neither shocked nor surprised if a sheepdog was to come running through the corridor and trip me over …Or maybe it was just feeling like we were waiting for something else to happen. It was no secret to the Turks that Rufus did want to rebuild ShinRa; I didn't doubt that he'd already started to do so in the last year but the President tended to keep these things between him and Tseng and that was fine with me. I wasn't good with politics. I had no problem with it being rebuilt – ShinRa was my life, had been my life since I was fifteen years old, and I'd be more than happy to return to the city. Rufus may have changed, he may have no longer wanted to rule with brute force and fear, but it was understandable that a man like him would want to continue his reign as President of the free world should he get the chance. The thing about Rufus Shinra was that he didn't wait for chances to come around; he made them himself. Once upon a time that had been a frightening concept but these days I found it quite inspiring.

As my eyes fell on a long forgotten bottle of bourbon at the back of one of our cupboards and I came to the instantaneous decision that I needed to stop thinking like I was one man out to change the world. No more of this 'inspiring' bullshit. Reno Sinclair did not 'inspire' or 'aspire' to anything and gaia-forbid people start taking me for more than the carefree bastard that I was. I snatched up the bottle proudly, along with a glass from the draining board that I could be sure was clean because I hadn't washed it myself – I'm not the most thorough dishwasher – and headed for the staircase down to our private rooms. I found alcohol the most effective method of purging unwanted thoughts from my head and would choose it over 'dwelling' any day. Half the population of Edge was probably with me.

As I passed Rude's room, I heard voices inside, which I could safely assume were those of my missing comrades as neither was female and Rufus was still asleep, but I thought I'd stick my head around the door anyway. When we first arrived at Healin we'd all been on edge, expecting an assassination attempt on the President's life as if someone knew he'd survived Weapons attack on Midgar. In the last year since Rufus' dramatic reappearance, there had been the occasional attempt from do-gooders who thought they were doing the world a favour or just wanted to be heroes themselves like the 'Great AVALANCHE' and destroy the last Shinra. None of the attempts had been well planned or even close to successful, and we felt we had little to worry about, so checking that the voices I could hear were definitely Rude and Tseng was just for old times sake and out of boredom.

I slipped into the room almost unnoticed and leant back against the wall beside the door, taking a gulp of bourbon straight out of the bottle and folding my arms. Tseng stood staring out the window, muttering to himself and Rude sat against the edge of the desk, watching him. "What we discussin, boys?" I asked, if only to break the uneasy silence that seemed to have fallen over the room.

Both men jerked around at the sound of my voice and I couldn't help but snicker because really, they should have noticed my presence and I'd thought they had, and had simply chosen to ignore me.

"How long have you been standing there, Reno?" Tseng frowned, massaging his temples with one hand. I took another sip of the bourbon, rolling the liquid around in my mouth and pretending to consider the question.

"About forty seconds." I answered finally, enjoying the sight of Tseng starting to fume when I didn't give him an answer. "Not long enough ta hear what the two of ya been talking about, but it seems ya slacking a little lately, huh? Should have been more alert than that."

I was only teasing, but Tseng's frown only deepened as he sighed at my words. "My apologies." He said sincerely, and it almost took me by surprise because Tseng has made a habit of never, ever apologizing to me because I annoy the man to high hell. The matter didn't even deserve an apology. "You're right. I've just got a lot on my mind at the moment."

Rude stayed silent as ever, but I could feel his dark eyes flicking between the two of us behind his ever-present sunglasses. I couldn't resist just one more jab at the Wutain man, because the situation was just begging for it. "Good thing ya got me ta save the President's life when ya wasting all yer time thinking yerself ta death then, huh?"

This caught his attention, and Tseng looked up at me again, all the seriousness of a man twice his age on his face. "Did something happen? Reno?" He almost sounded panicked, his lips parted anxiously and I'm sure a lesser man would have, but Tseng was good at keeping the emotion out of his voice. If nothing else, I'd give him that, and I actually respected the man for it. It was more than I could do.

"No, but I'm jus saying. If it did, ya wouldn't have ta worry, sir." I smirked, bringing the bottle back to my lips once more. He relaxed, and his lips pulled shut again into a tight line like always. That fleeting look of anticipation was probably the most expressive one I'd see on his face for a week. "So, are ya gonna tell me what we're talking bout here or not?"

Our Wutain leader turned back to the window as he considered it, so I moved to the bed and flopped down to make myself comfortable. I didn't need clarification, because the fact I hadn't been kicked out of the room yet was invitation enough to settle in. Discussing work sounded more fun than playing solitaire in my room like I'd planned on doing. Still, cards sounded good…

"I don't know if the President would want -"

"Tseng." Rude interrupted curtly, and both the Wutain and myself looked towards him in slight surprise. He stared at Tseng, boring holes into his eyes with his own behind those glasses. "Reno is as much a part of this company as any of us. He should know -"

Going against my curious nature, I cut him off here in fear of hearing Rude say more words than he'd ever spoken to our leader in his entire life and freaking the man out. Rude was my best friend, and I was just looking out for him, is all. "It's cool. Leave me outta yer politics; I'm probably better off that way. Want ta play a round of cards? We could even wake Old Man Shinra up."

Tseng narrowed his eyes in slight disapproval at my nickname but I wasn't taking it back even if I was older than the President. He was years ahead of me mentally; you wouldn't catch me dozing in an armchair behind a newspaper ever. "Rufus is asleep? Where is he?" He asked, making a beeline for the door and only pausing in the doorframe to wait for an answer. Rude stood up straight, which meant my suggestion was definitely going ahead. I was pretty happy about that, to be honest. Rude was good at chess but I was damn good at poker and blackjack. It's just one of those things you pick up as a kid in the slums. Perhaps I could even win myself a few gil tonight, if Rude was going to be a good sport.

"In his chair. Elena's watching TV in there though, so ya better watch out, Tsengy-boy." I grinned, following him out of the room with Rude in tow. Once again, I was only teasing, but we all knew Elena had a massive crush on the man. Tseng just didn't seem willing to accept it, which was a real shame if you thought about it, because she was a pretty, smart, strong girl and all that was going to waste. The Wutain man just grunted in response as we made our way up the wooden staircase into the main building again. Our private rooms sat further down the mountainside on the otherside of the lodge so they couldn't be seen from the road or the main entrance; since the second coming of Sephiroth when Geostigma had been cured, Rufus had since bought the sanatorium for our own personal used since it was no longer needed and made this adaptation for our own protection. We couldn't be on guard 24/7 and this extra distance kept us hidden from view and made good makeshift security.

Rude and me made a detour for the kitchen as Tseng headed over to the lounge, mumbling about getting the President to his bedroom. "Go ahead and do that sir," I teased, "then yer joining us fer a round of cards. Ask 'Laney if she wants ta join us, too."

Elena wouldn't want to but I knew she could hear me from the lounge and I liked to stay in her good books. She really was a pretty lady and we'd slept together a couple of times, usually after a night out boozing somewhere, but there was nothing between us. No spark, or anything, so we left it at that. Tseng didn't need know, nor anyone else for that matter, because I'd say it was pretty unprofessional of us. I did believe Tseng would come round, once he pulled his head out of his ass. How many more years of his life he was going to waste first I could only guess.

I set my bottle and glass down on the table as Rude took a seat and rummaged around in the cutlery draw for the spare set of cards. I had several packs, and I liked to leave them lying around the lodge but somehow they always got tidied up. I blamed Rufus. He liked things neat and precise. I couldn't say the same for myself. The only place I could ever find things without trying too hard was my own room, and that was because it's always a state, but it's a state I put it in. We were hardly expected to keep our rooms clean like rowdy teenagers, and for that I was ever grateful. It wouldn't sit well with me. Spearing my hand on a few knives in the process, I pulled my favourite pack out victoriously just as Tseng and Rufus passed the kitchen door.

"Reno, Rude." Rufus acknowledged, pausing in the doorway.

"Sir," we both nodded, and I couldn't resist asking. "Wanna join us fer a game?"

Something that somewhat resembled a smile graced his handsome face for a second but he shook his head. It was probably the most we could expect from the President anyway. He'd long since recovered from the Stigma and his injuries after the explosion but Rufus was often weary these days. I really didn't know what him and Tseng were up to but it took a lot out of him. "Not tonight Reno, but thank you. I'm going to bed." He said graciously, pausing for a moment before he added, "Don't stay up too late, I've got an assignment for the two of you tomorrow."

We nodded again as Tseng ushered him away from the door like an impatient father. It wasn't hard to tell that was pretty much how Tseng saw his relationship with the President; he'd been the man's guardian for many years and acted more like a parent to Rufus when he was younger than his own estranged old man had done. We didn't condone it; sometimes I wondered if Rufus would even be able to cope without Tseng around to tell him when to go to bed and other everyday, simple activities.

An assignment should have sounded promising but these days it was less so. For all we knew, he wanted us to go and fetch the shopping for that week. It was nothing to get excited about. I settled down at the table across from Rude and lit up a cigarette, pushing the pack of cards across to him so he could shuffle them whilst I smoked. It was an unspoken rule that we were starting with a game of 'Go Fish' because as childish as that was, we'd done it for almost ten years now since the first time I'd ever played cards with him. I was 16 when I met Rude; I'd been a Turk for a year, and him for three, and we were partnered up but back then, I wouldn't socialize much with anyone and although I'd never shut my mouth, every word I spoke was a verbal jab to my superiors or whoever happened to be in the room at the time. I got in trouble a lot back then, and then Rude came along and he didn't talk much either and it started to get on my nerves. Being partnered with someone who wouldn't let you get a word in edge way would have been bad, but at least then I could have had a reason to insult him. I had nothing to go on, nothing to laugh at besides his appearance and his silence, and "cat got ya tongue?" jokes got old pretty fast. Back then our leader, Veld, had informed us that if we didn't start acting like proper partners he'd send the both of us back to the academy. I didn't like that idea in the slightest – I'd only spent a couple of months there myself because I'd excelled as a fighter and they gave up trying to educate me at all and just gave me a job – so I actually made the rash decision to put some effort into trying to get to know the silent man. There's one thing I'd put effort into in my life, at least. It was worth it.

At first it seemed like I was just bothering the man with my efforts. Eventually, I managed to coax him to play a game of cards with me in my apartment; I was just a sixteen-year-old boy, who'd never had the luxury of living somewhere like an apartment in his life, and it did get lonely. As knowledgeable as I was about card games, all he could play was 'Go Fish' and so we did. We enjoyed it too, and it became a habit. He was a quick learner but even as I taught him every trick my book, we'd still always start the evening with the same stupid game. Nowadays it was like a ritual, at least when it was just the two of us playing cards.

I lifted up my seven cards and arranged them thoughtfully. I'm sure I looked like an idiot doing so, but I took every card game seriously. I liked competition. "Rude, got any fives?"

"Go fish." He replied, doing the same. I took a card from the pile and put mine face down on the tabletop again so I could pour myself a drink. Whoever this bourbon belonged to – I had a feeling it must have been left here when we bought the place – they'd had good taste. I generally didn't care for the flavour of my alcohol so long as it did its job but it was nice to drink something that didn't resemble truck fuel for once. "Any jack's?"

"No, but I got a bottle of brandless here," I sniggered, waving the bourbon towards him. He didn't look amused at my anecdote. At least _I_ thought it was funny, but I sighed and lifted my hand of cards off the table again anyway. Arguing about it wasn't going to make it any funnier. "Damn!"

Once I'd handed my jack over, an amused smile finally spread across Rude's face. I scowled, gulping down what was in my glass hastily. The game continued so for several more minutes and I was finally winning when to my utmost surprise, Tseng returned to the kitchen.

"What are we playing then?" He asked, taking a seat beside Rude and glancing at the cards on the table.

"Go Fish." I said to both Tseng and Rude, leaning back on my chair. "We'll be done in a second, when I _win_." Rude snorted at my comment, taking a card and laying down a pair of sixes, which evened up the score.

"Go …Fish?" Tseng questioned, an eyebrow rising with his words.

I nodded, asking Rude if he had any Ace's before I explained, "Yeah, Rude and me always play it first thing, don' we buddy?"

He nodded, handing over an ace. I smirked, putting down my new pair and staring at my last card. I took a drink of my bourbon first, emptying the glass and pouring out another ready to take a victory drink.

"Nevermind then." The Wutain man frowned, standing up again. "I guess it was an overestimation to think we could do something 'grown-up' for once."

"Wait, Tseng. We'll play something else next… you're the boss, choice is yours. Jus watch this." I huffed, waving my hand at him so he'd sit down again. He did, slowly, and I took another sip of my drink. "Rude, got any kings?"

Tseng glanced at Rude's hand again and kept his face blank, but I could see the frustration on my partners. His eyebrows knitted together as he handed over his second to last card, which was the ace of spades. I punched the air victoriously. "What did I tell ya! I always win."

"You lost that game of blackjack last time." Rude pointed out, but I waved him away dismissively and knocked back my whole glass of bourbon. I was sufficiently tipsy tonight and dammit, I was going to make Tseng enjoy himself whether he wanted to or not.

"Drink, Tseng?" I questioned, getting up to make him one without waiting for an answer. I didn't get one, or at least not a vocal one and I was facing away from him, but I didn't care either way. I slid back into my seat and pushed the glass of bourbon towards Tseng and handed Rude one of his brews out of the fridge. "What we playin?"

The both of them took their drinks silently. Tseng considered the question for a moment, sipping the bitter liquid carefully like it would scald him or something if he drank any faster. "Poker?" He asked, reaching below the table and shifting about for a moment before producing his wallet and dropping it on the table. "Texas Hold'em. For gil."

"Good man," I grinned, and Rude clapped him on the shoulder as the two of us pulled out our own wallets. Money was always good for sprucing up a card game, anyway. "I'll deal."

A few rounds and several drinks later, I decided it would be a good idea to find out what my superiors had been talking about in Rude's room earlier that night. The man himself had retired to bed about ten minutes ago, but Tseng and I were drunk and playing Poker with two people didn't seem as stupid as it should have done anymore. "So _sir_," I started, cigarette hanging out of my mouth as I dealt again. "Any idea… what this mission is bout tomorrow? Anything ta do with what you were talking about earlier?"

"You heard that?" Tseng asked lazily, picking up his cards and leaning against his hand. He didn't drink very often, I could tell. He was an awkward drunk, at least.

"No. But I'm curious again." I chuckled. "Yer playin lil' blind, Tseng."

He nodded, chucking a few coins into the center of the table. "It's nothing important."

"Then tell me." I grinned, pushing my own money towards the center of the table. I had plenty to spare now. Rude had only headed off for the night because he realized I was taking advantage of Tseng's blatant intoxication to bugger him for all the money I could. I had no conscience when I was drunk. "_Indulge_ me."

"I'm not gay, Reno." He snorted, as I lay out the first card and he matched my bet.

"What?!" I sniggered, slightly alarmed by his statement and why on earth he'd be saying that in the first place. I knocked back the rest of my drink and added to the bet.

"I won't indulge you. I'm not gay." He hissed awkwardly, his normally pale cheeks rosy with the drink and possibly embarrassment over what he was saying. I burst out laughing as I realized what he was assuming.

"_What_?? Neither am I! Are ya even listening ta what I'm saying anymore?"

He shook his head slowly, staring with glazed over eyes at the five cards in his hand and rearranging them pointlessly. Part of me realized as I watched him that we were playing this all wrong, but it didn't really matter right now. I was pocketing my boss's money, and he thought I was coming on to him. This night had turned out to be a _complete_ success as far as I was concerned. This was more fun than I'd had in weeks.

"I was askin what Rufus is up to, but I think a different issue is at hand huh?" I chuckled, sucking on my cigarette for a moment while he thought about what I'd just said. It was quite humbling to see Tseng looking so lost and confused. It reminded me, in some fucked up way, of a small child, which was really freaky considering how much he'd had to drink. I might be an irresponsible man but I wouldn't let a kid drink.

"What do you mean?" He said finally, putting his cards down and effectively abandoning the game entirely.

"What I mean is, if ya not gay, why don' ya like 'Laney?" I was only messing with him; it was one of my favourite pastimes, playing with Tseng's head. The fact he was too drunk to get angry was just a bonus; the cherry on the cake.

"I never said that." He narrowed his eyes at me. I raised a thin brown eyebrow.

"So ya do like her?"

"I… I…" He stammered slightly, looking around the room like it would provide him with some sort of answer. I had him now! No excuses or escape attempts were going to get him out of this one! Except perhaps… "I… Rufus is sending you after Vincent Valentine!"


	2. Chapter 2

2--

Rude shook me awake. I could feel a thin trail of drool dripping down my chin and something warm in my hand as I opened my eyes to the blinding sunlight.

"Reno. Up." Was all he said as he pulled me upright in my chair. I groaned, rubbing my head and shooting daggers at him with my eyes to show how much I really didn't appreciate being woken up like this. The warm presence was last night's second bottle of whiskey, which I vaguely remembered drinking straight out of after we'd finished the first. I must have been holding it all night.

This was about the time I began to wonder why I was asleep at the kitchen table anyway. I didn't have time to give it much thought though, because then my hangover struck me like a bowling ball to the head and it was only then I noticed, as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, that Tseng was asleep face down on the table across from me. For a moment I thought he might be dead, if only because the sight itself was so bizarre and unexpected. His black hair spilled out around his head like a curtain, shielding his face from the offending morning light; his jacket was nowhere to be seen and what was visible of his shirt was a mess of loose buttons and whiskey stains. It was like someone had replaced Tseng with some lesser being. I was almost prepared to fight the beast, but quickly came to a much more entertaining course of action.

Deciding I wanted to give him a wake up call as rude as the one I'd just received, I almost bounced out of my seat. I'm good at dealing with hangovers, although I wasn't particularly proud of that because it was a skill honed only by endless nights of drinking. But proud or not proud, I was still grateful for it as the stabbing pain in my head dulled to a low throb. Rude eyed me wearily. I just smirked in reply; Rude and I had almost perfected the art of silent communication over many years of partnership and I watched the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Amused with his plight, I continued on my quest and successfully filled a glass with cold tap water. Not that it was a hard task, but a small part of me was extremely nervous about what I was about to do.

Truthfully I'd never let nerves bother me, or any of those other little internal nuisances. I was a trained killer and my line of work didn't allow for anything like nerves or conscience to come into play, so I went with my primary instincts and just tipped the glass of water over Tseng head. Rude didn't try and stop me; he just stood there and groaned, removing his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose. I'd expected him to make a swift exit but I guess he didn't want to leave me alone in the company of one certain hungover Wutain; I can't say I wasn't greatful. Although the dose is small, the standard Mako shots Turks are given twice monthly for the first two years of their employment sends our alcohol tolerance through the roof compared to the average Joe. Judging by my hangover, and Tseng being the stuck-up professional that he was and rarely taking a drink, he was in for one hell of a rough morning.

One of the things Turks are trained to do, one of the golden rules, is never to put yourself in unnecessary danger when there is some other way to go about a situation; it was rule I generally ignored, because if _anything_ fun was going to happen when I was working, it was going to happen when I was doing something really spontaneous and stupid. This morning at the breakfast table, aka Tseng's (sticky, card covered) pillow, was no different. There was just one thing I didn't count on… but I think Rufus' presence made the whole ordeal a million times more entertaining.

"What the hell are you -?" he started from where he stood in the doorway, but his words trailed off and his mouth hung slightly agape as his eyes landed on the dripping kraken at the table.

Because really, that's what Tseng's hair did look like. I'm sure Rufus would tell you the same.

"_RENO_!!"

I don't think Tseng even stopped to think about where he was, who was present or what the hell was going on as he stood bolt upright, dark eyes narrowing and fixing on me like a hungry beast. His hands clenched against the table, and I was almost concerned he was going to throw the damn thing at me… it still would have been worth it, even if he did. I liked to live with no regrets, in any case. I grinned at him wildly, before turning to regard Rufus' presence very cautiously to let him know.

"Yes, Tseng?" I asked slowly, innocently, keeping the grin on my face and in my eyes.

Tseng was an extremely good Turk; he was smart, tactical, fast, and a real strong leader. He had maybe only one problem – professionally, if you weren't counting the fact he was stuck up and took the fun out of everything – and that was his temper. The commander had some serious anger issues; it was the only one of his emotions he didn't seem to be able to repress. There wasn't much I could claim to be better than the Wutain at, but I could control my temper and – not to boast but – I was much faster than him. We were both about six feet tall, but I had longer legs, and I was lighter than him, and just… faster. I'd been relying on my speed to keep him from bashing my head in; I was going to let him chase him round the lodge a bit until he lost interest but the fact Rufus was standing there looking completely bewildered was going to work in my favour and didn't I just know it!

Rufus' lips curled up in amusement as Tseng stood there seething in anger, dark hair drenched in water and sticky with whiskey. For a moment, he didn't seem to even acknowledge that the President was in the room and I did start to wonder if I should just run for it. Rufus being in the room was supposed to force him to calm down but I had a feeling Tseng hadn't dealt with many hangovers in his recent years and if his were anything like mine, he would have been going through hell. He walked around the table, eyes still fixed on me with all the malicious intent of a viral disease and suddenly, his hand was bunched up in the loose collar of my shirt, pulling me closer towards his fuming face. I could only think of one more resort and started to rummage around in my pockets desperately.

"Bad hangover, huh?" I chuckled, somewhat afraid I was about to have my neck snapped, and pulled out a potion. I waved it in front of his face meekly. "Potion?"

He let go of my shirt and I let go of a deep breath I didn't realize I'd been holding in. The potion was snatched from my swinging fingers and he clenched his fist so tight around it I thought he was going to smash it; he didn't. Instead, he gave me one more sharp look, scraping his wet hair out of his eyes and turning towards Rufus.

"Apologies, sir." He growled through gritted teeth, pushing past Rude and storming out of the room, completely usurping my conclusion that he hadn't noticed the President standing there. I bit my lip grimly; I almost felt sorry for the man. It wasn't nice to have a hangover that bad if you couldn't handle it.

Rufus, however, just smirked and passed me to pour out a cup of coffee from the machine Rude must have turned on earlier. "I am glad to see someone finally loosened that stick in his ass, Reno." He chuckled, mixing a large spoonful of syrup into his drink. I arched an eyebrow, glancing to Rude and back to the President. "But if you are going to get your superiors so drunk they wake up on the kitchen table in future, please choose a night when you don't have an assignment the next day."

"Sir," I nodded, now thoroughly amused. I came up beside him with my own mug; I liked coffee, and although I wasn't an avid drinker of the stuff, a hangover like this absolutely required one or two or maybe six. I mused that maybe I should make one for Tseng but the self-preserving part of my mind told me it was best to let him cool down right now. Or warm up. Or whatever. That water had been pretty cold; I would have been mad, too. But, no one in this lodge was stupid enough to tip water on my head, so I didn't have to worry about that.

"Good job though." Rufus purred quietly, his hot breath tickling my ear and sending me jumping back against the counter. I swerved round to look at him, nearly knocking my mug from the counter as I did so, my eyes wide with surprise. He only smiled, before picking up his mug and taking a seat at the table away from Tseng's wet chair. He frowned deeply at the mess. "You had better clean this up, Reno."

"Yes s-sir." I stammered, hand drifting to my ear, which still tickled, as I hastily grabbed a cloth from the sink and began to clean up the mess we'd left from the night before. I noticed, as I did so, that my partner was no longer in the room and wondered when Rude had made his escape and if he'd just witnessed that. My better senses told me that no, Rufus probably wouldn't have done anything of the sort with Rude still in the room but that made it all the more disturbing. I tried to put it down to the idea that perhaps the President was just feeling playful this morning but that thought in its self sent nervous shivers down my spine. Rufus was not a playful kind of guy.

Peeling my favourite pack of cards off the sticky tablecloth wasn't a particularly fun activity, at least for me, but that was just my opinion. Rufus was watching me like a hawk, his blue eyes still dancing with amusement at my plight. My fingers fumbled under his gaze, taking twice as long to gather every whiskey covered card as it should have; by the time I'd finished we were no longer the only two in the kitchen and it looked like I wasn't going to get a chance to ask Rufus what the hell that was all about anytime soon.

"Reno." Elena called, one eyebrow raised and her arms folded across her chest. "Tseng just came storming past my room, dripping wet. Am I to assume you had something to do with that?"

"Yer sounding more and more like him everyday." I snickered, nodding. "It's not my fault he got blind drunk and fell asleep on the table though!"

"I beg to differ." Tseng huffed, coming into the room behind her, pulling his wet hair back into a high ponytail. I grinned; I hadn't seen him do that in years now. He straightened his jacket cuffs and made a beeline for the coffee pot with Elena in tow. Between the five of us living here, we drank a real fucking lot of coffee. Rufus was an ass about it too; he wouldn't drink cheap stuff, the kind of stuff you could pick up anywhere, which was really awkward. I normally left the shopping up to Elena; I didn't want to be making any mistakes. Tseng glanced back over his shoulder briefly and scowled, "It was you who put the bourbon in front of me was it not?"

"Ya didn't say no, though." I smirked, tossing the sticky pack of cards back into the cutlery draw and dropping into the seat next to Rufus. I was hungry as high hell but I wasn't going to make anything. I was a good enough cook but if I even opened the fridge right now to see what we had, I'd end up cooking for the five of us, and that really wasn't in my interest. "'Laney… make me food." I whined. "I've got an assignment today and I need ta be fed. Rude too."

She shot me a dangerous glare as Tseng passed her with his mug of coffee – black as the hair on his head and almost certainly sugar free – and I knew I had already won when he paused hesitantly and turned to her. "Would you mind, Elena? I have a terrible…"

"…hangover?" I finished for him, since it seemed he couldn't bring himself to say it. He rolled his eyes. Elena, however, was looking up at him eagerly now. Elena was a good Turk. She had to have been, to have survived this long with us. When she'd first joined us more than three years ago, I'd been left out of action by AVALANCHE and thought of her rather spitefully as a replacement for myself. It had taken several months for me even to accept her as a Turk; she was so dainty and pretty. It wasn't until Don Corneo has kidnapped her and the Wutain kid that I realized I cared. Now, she was just as much a part of this fucked up little family as I was. Although to get back to my point; Elena was a very good Turk. She just turned to mush when it came to Tseng and she'd pretty much do anything he asked.

"Sure, boys." She said with a grim smile, already turning to the fridge. "I'll make us all breakfast. Only if you stop bickering though!"

I shot her a lopsided grin, smirking at Tseng for no good reason and letting them all know I was going to have a quick shower before we ate. I did realize it must have been tough for Elena, living in amongst a horde of men and having to cook for all of us most of the time. She acted like more of a housewife than a Turk some days and it was easy to forget she was as much of a dangerous as rest of us. I can't say I didn't appreciate it though.

The shower… I have always loved the shower. I love water in general, the ocean in particular. If I didn't get sea sick, I'd spend more time in boats but that's not to say I don't enjoy flying the chopper. It's my favourite thing in the world, to relax or whatever you want to call it. Close after it comes the shower though, along with cigarettes, alcohol and sex. Not that those last things calm me down, or whatever. Not the same way the shower and watching the ocean did, at least. Maybe it seems like the last thing someone like me would enjoy but I've said it before and I'll say it again; I'm really not as shallow as everyone takes me for.

I dropped my head forward against the tiles and gasped slightly under the hot spray. Whatever I did in my life, it felt like I could wash away my sins with a blast of scalding water. It was one of the things I loved the most about showering. Being in water just seemed to relax me; cleanse my soul. I didn't really believe in that shit, or anything. It was just nice to think about sometimes.

Quickly washing my hair with the same cherry shampoo I always used, I jumped back out again, suddenly remembering how hungry I was feeling when my stomach growled loud enough for me to hear even inside the shower and eager to get my hands on some of Elena's cooking. She didn't make the greatest meals I'd ever tasted; unlike myself, she spent _most_ of her youth in the academy and didn't have time to practice things like that. Meals at the academy were dished out of a big pot in the lunch hall three times a day and that was that. Most of the cadets there didn't have enough money to buy any meals outside of this routine. However Elena was raised by her grandparents alone, along with her sister Gemma who'd been a few years before her, and learning to cook had been an intricate part of her childhood. Her meals were not like anything I'd ever tasted; not the best, but very different. We all appreciated them, and she loved the compliments.

By the time I'd dried off, and pulled on a clean uniform, and sorted out my hair, I could smell breakfast being cooked all the way down the corridor and up the stairs again. I drifted towards it, lost in my own thoughts. Now I'd successfully shaken off my hangover, I was quite looking forward to this upcoming assignment. Rufus was sending us to find Vincent Valentine and bring him to the lodge; that's all Tseng had told me, or at least all I remembered him telling me. Vague as it was, it might even have been all he knew because Rufus had a habit of being completely imprecise when he was planning something. Even so, I could tell it was going to go well; I just had a feeling today was going to be a good day, now that I had a clear head.

I couldn't say the same for Tseng. I don't think I've ever seen the man look as savage as he did sitting at the kitchen table when I walked into the room. His dark eyes were watching me like a hawk as I made my way over to the coffee pot for the second time that morning. Normally I wouldn't drink this much coffee; too much and I was buzzed like a drunkard, only much more hyperactive – but I was still hungover whether I was pretending not to notice or not and it helped. Then again, I got completely wasted a lot so maybe this much coffee was normal.

"Reno, right in time!" Elena grinned, susceptibly more cheery than she had been when I'd first asked her to cook for me earlier. I glanced at Tseng but the look in his eyes startled me again and I was quick to turn away. I didn't want to look at him, let alone get caught up in conversation with the man after I'd tipped water over his head this morning should he attempt to stab me to death, although it was almost inevitable seeing as Rude and me had an upcoming assignment and Tseng was usually the one to dish out the list of activities.

"Mmm, am looking forward to ya cooking, 'Laney." I purred, taking a seat next to Rufus once again and tapping my spoon against the edge of the table in a haphazard rhythm. Her grin – if possible – widened as she started to dish up the food she'd cooked. I liked to see Elena happy… she was worth it. I could still remember her sister Gemma, and how much the two of them would fight; but I would never be able to wipe away the memory of the hopeless, desperate look on her face when I had to inform her that her sister had been eliminated. It was a look I hoped I'd never have to see again. I say 'eliminated' as in, fired from the company, although everyone high enough up in the hierarchy to be a threat if they ever turned against us never lived to tell ShinRa's secrets. At least, back then, because things had changed for the better. I hoped. It was a pain to have to be the one to tell her even if I didn't know her back then… it was painful to have to shoot another Turk too, and worse to have to hide it from their sister for years afterwards. She still didn't know I'd been the one to do it. Elena had still just been a cadet at the academy back then and as devastated as she had been at Gemma's death, it toughened her up and was maybe the only reason she grew strong enough to take my place years later. Anyway… She deserved the happiness she had found now. She really wasn't my type, and that was probably better for the both of us because if she was, even if it were my intention to make her happy, I probably would have hurt her years ago if I'd tried to take it beyond the odd unintentional drunk fuck.

"Thank you, Reno." She nodded, swinging her hips a little as she leant forward to put my plate in front of me. If it was any other girl, I might have taken it as her attempting to flirt with me but this was Elena and I didn't miss the way she was standing. Understanding that she, even if she was doing it subconsciously, was just teasing Tseng, I didn't think twice about playing along.

"Not fer that, 'Laney. I'll never run out of compliments fer you, pretty lady." I winked, smirking in Tseng's direction as I dug into my egg waffles. Obviously conscious of what I was playing at, she giggled slightly and started to dish out Tseng's food. He was watching me with a stern frown as I groaned in appreciation at the food. I could be quite theatrical when I wanted to be but that was saying much, because I was a Turk and Turk's had to be good at everything, without fail. There were Turks, back in the days when there were a whole load of us, like Lacan "Two Guns" Troney who got away with fouling up every other mission but even he got wiped out eventually… by my hand, again. The President liked leaving me in charge of the real dirty inside work because he thought that with me being pretty much an orphan, a kid from the worst part of the slums, that he could do away with me any time if I caused any trouble and no one would care. It was probably true for a long time, too.

"What's that look for?" She tutted at Tseng, putting his plate in front of him and leaning over the table to slide one in front of Rufus. "You know Reno's not so bad! You should cheer up, I made your favourite!"

The Wutain looked down at the egg waffles and back up at her like he hadn't even realized yet. "I… he…" He frowned again, tapping his temple like he was trying to find the right words, but we were all interrupted as Rufus cleared his throat. The three of us looked round at him sheepishly as if we'd done something horribly wrong, although I'm sure if I'd taken the time to look I'd see Tseng glowing with relief.

"When you're finished, I need the two of you to meet me in the lounge for your briefing." He said mechanically, nodding towards Rude and me. I wondered when my partner had come into the room; he couldn't have been there long, because he looked confused – an expression I rarely saw on my friend's face. Normally it was hard to see how he was feeling behind those glasses but this morning they were neatly tucked away inside his jacket pocket. Rufus stood, lifting his clean plate with him and slipping out from his seat. Man, did he ever eat fast? The plate had only been there a minute. As he left the room, I silently noted that he was every bit his usual self and whatever had gotten into him earlier was definitely gone as quickly as it had started. I didn't dwell on it at that moment because I knew Rufus was horribly unpredictable. It would catch me up later when I was alone again, with too much time to think. Times like that were as common these days as behemoths in the grasslands. "Tseng, you are not needed." He added, pausing in the doorway only briefly to look back at the man before he disappeared from the room. Tseng only nodded to his back, thanking Elena quickly and starting his own breakfast as she served Rude a plate, and finally set one down for herself.

Me, being… who I am, could not let breakfast go on without a further jibe my superior. I didn't consider it stepping the line. I was only having a bit of fun, and helping Elena get her man. Even if she was exactly the same age as me – out by just a couple of weeks – she'd come to be like a little sister to me since I got over despising her, since we weren't going to take the relationship down the path of lovers even if we had wanted to. Helping her out came naturally to me; almost as naturally as taunting Tseng.

"So I take it ya didn't 'enjoy' yer wake up call this morning, Tsengy-boy?" I jeered, not looking up at him as I shovelled in another mouthful of egg waffle. It might have sounded like a strange dish and I'd never heard of anyone else making anything like it but sugar waffle really did taste nice fried in egg and I wasn't surprised it was Tseng's favourite food, even if it didn't seem like the kind of thing a man as imperious as him would enjoy.

"Reno," he warned sternly, as Elena smothered a giggle and asked what happened.

"I jus gave him a nice cold shower ta wash the whiskey out his hair -"

"You poured a glass of ice water over my head…" Tseng interrupted, glaring at me a little more harshly than his usual disapproving stare. I rolled my eyes.

"I jus thought ya might need one… after the things ya were saying ta me last night, thought a cold shower my cool ya off, hot stuff." I snickered, waving a hand at him. This time Elena did giggle at my endearing new nickname for our superior and I grinned behind another mouthful of waffle. "S' better than waking up all groggy, anyway."

"_Reno_," He interrupted again in a menacing growl. Finally I looked up at him from my food, a smirk in place on my face that didn't fall as I caught sight of him failing to keep his cold look in place to hide his confusion and curiosity. Obviously, he didn't remember a thing, which was completely perfect because it gave me so much more ammunition to abuse the Wutain with. His gaze dropped to the side like it was taking all his energy to remember the night before and it probably was. I could almost see the cogs turning behind that marked forehead of his. Finally, I watched the break in his composure I'd been waiting for as his brows drew sharply together and his eyes landed on me again. "What did I say last night?"

Rude quickly put on his sunglasses; it was his way of telling me he didn't want to be part of this conversation and wasn't even going to listen. That was fine with me. As long as at least one person was watching us, the cause wouldn't be lost. It was too much fun to wind up Tseng. Elena leaned forward across the table on her elbows like she'd miss it if she wasn't right up close. "Oh, I don' think it would be appropriate ta say in front of the others, sir." I jibed with a half grin, shrugging and finishing the last bite of my food just as Rude did. He took this moment as a chance to take his leave before things escalated and my plate was whipped out from under my nose before I could even lay my cutlery down properly. They clattered onto the porcelain as he whisked it away to the sink with his own and plunged it into the sinkfull of soapy water Rufus had run up - whoever finished last did the washing up, if they hadn't cooked; it was an unspoken rule at the lodge and I was going to make sure Tseng got the short straw this time. I'd come too far already so it was only reasonable that I should go for an all-out Tseng-assault… not to mention, I didn't feel like being elbow deep in peoples wet leftovers.

"Reno." Tseng scowled, his voice having lost its sharp edge since he'd lost his equanimity. I shrugged again, standing up from my seat so I could leave the two of them in the kitchen. If Elena was going to make progress with the man, it would be now, whilst his defences were down.

"That's my name." I nodded in a patronizing, assuring sort of way as I stopped in the doorway and looked back over my shoulder at him, standing where Rufus had earlier. I felt it gave me a sense of superiority to be in his position. "But yer really starting ta wear it out, Tseng. Should watch what ya saying."

I left then, hopefully leaving Tseng in something of a state and Elena with some kind of opportunity to get closer to him. I didn't want to keep Rufus and Rude waiting any longer anyway, so I hurried down the hall towards them and let the would-be couple slip my mind. There were more important things on my mind, like a certain exciting and non-descript assignment I was about to be sent on.

"Rude, boss." I acknowledged, dropping over the arm of the couch and lying across it on my back, hands behind my head. Both of them were standing, but unless Rufus was already planning on killing me, this wasn't going to lose me any brownie points with either of them and if he was, it was unlikely being professional for a few minutes would change his erratic mind.

"Reno. Good, we can begin." Rufus nodded, sparing me only a short glance and picking up the inconspicuous black folder on the coffee table. There was a time when every document would look suspicious and worthy of investigation, with the ShinRa logo splashed ceremoniously across the front, bright red and distracting but these days such details were unnecessary in our current living situation. "As you should know, we've been funding the WRO for over two years now." He started, looking us both in the eyes in turn. We nodded; paying for the World Restoration Order was the first of Rufus' attempts to fix the planet after everything ShinRa corp. had done over the years. "What you may or may not know is that ex-Turk Vincent Valentine has been working with them lately. It is common knowledge that he was directly involved with the destruction of Omega weapon several weeks ago, but his whereabouts are unknown."

Rufus took a moment to examine both our expressions. The man had grown talented at reading people over many years of working as a businessman. He was younger than me, but he had been working for his father since he was thirteen years old, back when I was still out on the streets, hating the corporation for everything it was worth. "You're probably wondering why this concerns us." He continued, wetting his lips slightly. The sight was quite intimidating, especially because he was right.

"Because he was a Turk?" I asked slowly, unsure whether the question was supposed to be rhetorical or not. It probably was, but I was curious and I was sure he would just brush the issue off if I didn't ask. "Don' tell me ya want him back on the force, sir…"

"Once a Turk, always a Turk, Reno." He said sternly. We held eye contact for a moment as I contemplated this. It was plausible; I knew Rufus wanted to rebuild the company, albeit slowly, and the man had not only rescued Tseng and Elena from the remnants on his own accord but had twice been involved in saving the entire planet so he was clearly strong in mind and physical strength which would be a bonus… even so, something told me there was more to it than this. Nothing was ever simple with Rufus Shinra and if he wanted to increase the size of the Turks he'd most likely take new cadets in for training instead of seeking out old employees. Still, either way, I was going to accept this reason because it wasn't my place to know anymore than this and I knew that if – or rather when – I got curious about his agenda, questioning Rufus would get me nowhere anyway. Only one thing was eating at me.

"But the sir, does the fact that he is an 'ex-Turk' not bother ya as to where his loyalties fall?"

Rufus raised a long, defined eyebrow and rolled his shoulders back as if they were causing him pain. It was likely that they were, because Rufus' strength wavered these days. I almost felt sorry for him. "Do you even know the nature of his disposal?"

The way he'd called it a 'disposal' made me shiver slightly. It wasn't a welcome thought but he did have a point. I shook my head with a slight shrug. I didn't know much more about Vincent Valentine than the rest of the world did; I'd seen company mug shots of him from years ago and I understood he was something like twice Tseng's age, although he did not look or act it. He was a Turk of Veld's era when the old leader had been a rookie himself. I'd met him only a few times, a couple in battle when we were still trying to bring down AVALANCHE before meteor fall and I knew he was something of a warrior, and I'd met him once on friendly terms when he'd returned Tseng and Elena's tortured bodies to us when he'd happened upon them at the forgotten city. He hadn't said much more about it and had been on his way, but at least I knew what I was looking for. He didn't look much like the young man in the company documents but then again, not much of his face was even on display behind his hair and ever-present red cloak. As for the nature of his 'disposal', I'd always assumed he'd been dismissed at a time before every unruly Turk was killed for their insolence.

"Very well then." Rufus said, flipping open the folder. It was full of newspaper clippings and handwritten notes, and maps with places circled and scribbled over in Tseng's neat handwriting. "Almost everything gathered here should provide you with some sort of lead towards where he may be, however reliable each source may be." He informed us, flicking through a few more pages and nodding in self-assurance before he passed the folder to Rude. My partner took it without a word and closed it once again, slipping it under his arm.

"What do ya want us to do when we find him?" I asked curiously, scratching the back of my head. I didn't really want to cuff the man and drag him back here, not that I doubted for a second he'd beat me to a pulp before I ever got the chance. The man was, I knew from first hand experience, an actual beast and I didn't like those odds.

"Bring him to the lodge." Rufus confirmed, as if he had read my thoughts. "But don't force him unless it is absolutely necessary. I would rather you coax him back here."

This time it was my eyebrow that rose slowly in my uncertainty. "How do ya propose we do that? He was part of AVALANCHE. Granted he saved 'Laney and Tseng but he probably hates our guts still."

"Be creative. I know you can be." Rufus shrugged, brushing the two unruly strands of hair that always hung in front of his face away from his eyes. I'd always found those two hairs amusing; no matter how much gel he used, they would spring forward and bother him. The sight of it was sometimes the only evidence the arrogant, stoic man was as human as the rest of us and that thought sat nicely with me. I didn't want to be working for a machine. "Also, you should consider the fact we're not the only ones looking for him." He added thoughtfully, after a moment, motioning towards the folder under Rude's arm. "Half the world is looking for their new saviour. I believe it was the reason Strife went into hiding before Sephiroth's return… We can offer him refuge."

Rufus finished here, nodding to us both and telling us, in more professional words, to get to it. He didn't need to continue; we both understood now. I couldn't imagine a man like Vincent Valentine enjoying the fame, anyway, and we could always pretend it was Rufus' way of thanking him for saving the planet he was trying to restore. Maybe it was.

I didn't miss the way he spat out Cloud's name like a disease. He'd never been fond of the man, as far as I knew. His hate for the AVALANCHE leader had only grown since the day he'd shot Dark Nation dead on the rooftop of the ShinRa tower. The dog had been the only constant in Rufus' young life and Cloud had taken that away with one blast of materia; since that day, the President had always had a problem with materia, since it was made by the company he ran and had destroyed that most precious to him. He'd been a glad man the day all but a few of types materia had been revoked by the WRO.

Rude and me took our leave. When Rufus had told us to get going, he'd meant just that. It was only half nine in the morning but we'd have to start the assignment immediately. Rude flipped absently through the folder he'd been handed as I started up the chopper; another unspoken rule was that he always handled the paperwork before a mission. For a long time now, I'd been able to read and write. Although when they'd first dragged me in off the streets I'd been almost incapable, I prided myself on my ability to learn quickly and you would be at fault to underestimate me by saying I was anything less than one of the smartest on the squad. Still, once upon a time even my attempts to spell my own name were in vain. I wasn't proud of it. I didn't really like people knowing about any of my 'history' but that didn't change the fact it had happened.

"Practice run?" I asked hopefully, hanging out the passenger side of the helicopter. I always like to test fly my baby first before we covered any serious distance; gaia-forbid the motor should fail mid-flight… not that I was concerned so much about the safety of my passengers, don't overestimate me. The chopper was my pride and joy and I couldn't imagine anything ever happening to her; when people took shots at her, I replated her expensive armour. When people made a mess of the inside, no matter who they were, I'd make them get down on their knees and scrub it up. If the test flight gave any signs of malfunction, I'd kick up enough of a fuss about not flying to send a cactuar reeling in fear… every inch of her was customized to the utmost perfection and of course, my personal taste. Her rights were mine from a week after the last President's death; if I had to thank Rufus Shinra for one single thing he'd done for me in all the years, it would be handing over the Puma 961. She was like a child to me.

Rude shook his head without a word. I let out a little groan of disappointment and slid back across the bench to the main controls. As he slipped in beside me and latched the door shut, I was already flicking switches and working the pedals, albeit slowly, maybe just to annoy him for denying me my practice flight. Silently as before, interrupting my agonizing take off, he reached around me and did up my seatbelt.

I only looked at him, bobbing my eyebrows and smirking wickedly at him. "Aw, you're no fun!"


	3. Chapter 3

Author Notes: You guys get this before Y! Gal for once, and even before the new website! (which is at /the-long-road and it's pretty cool) so enjoy it!

3 --

The sun was slowly slipping behind the mountainside above Midgar and painting the sky all kinds of delicious shades of orange and pink. It looked like the colour of candy corns, or fresh prickly peaches, the kind that only grew near Gongaga. The further it sank behind the horizon, the more colours I could pick out; I could see light purple, which distantly reminded me of the eyes of someone I'd once known. There was pale yellow, too, like the feathers of a newborn chocobo. And then there were a deep red-orange, almost brown, which looked just like the colour of a quality scotch. Damn, I was getting thirsty.

I pointed it out to Rude, who pulled off his sunglasses to look more carefully, before turning to stare at me silently. The expression on his face needed no words; I bowed my head, smirking in my shame and scolding myself for just spending the past ten minutes describing the colours of the sky in my head.

"How long until we're there?" I asked, changing the subject immediately away from my stupidity. If this truck was going to take much longer to reach our destination, I was going to go insane.

Glancing at his watch, he shrugged "'bout ten maybe?"

I scowled and folded my arms mutely. Sure, taking the chopper would be a lot less stealthy but the useless lead would have been ticked off the list hours ago and we'd already be in a tavern drinking litres of delicious Wutain sake. The only reason I'd agreed to leave it all the way on another continent was the fact that there were some remnants in Wutai who still hated Shinra and would try and get their two pennies worth by ransacking the Puma; my poor baby. Drinking would not be on the agenda if the chopper was danger.

So we were travelling to Wutai by truck; this was exactly as boring as I'd expected it to be - I turned my attention back to the sky hopelessly.

Tailing the mysterious ex-Turk turned out to be so much more of a strenuous task that I'd ever have thought. I knew if he was in hiding, he would be almost impossible to find, because he had been one of us and we're trained to do that incredibly well; it shouldn't have been hard for Turks like myself and Rude to find him in a few days regardless.

It had, however, been a whole week now. We'd moved from place to place, following all the leads in the folder and they'd all been about as useful as a lame chocobo. We'd made the conscious decision not to let AVALANCHE in on this in case Rufus really was planning something outrageous; it was pretty annoying, considering they were the most likely candidates to have any information on his whereabouts. We'd received some information about a cave in the Nibel area from Reeve but that turned out as useless as the others. Every time I thought about this assignment, the phrase 'easier said than done' came to mind and truthfully, it was testing my patience.

He wasn't in Midgar with the people he supposedly called friends.

He wasn't in Kalm, where he'd kept his previous residence before the Deepground disaster.

He wasn't in Nibelheim, where a booking under the inconspicuous name of Mr. V had been made at the local tavern inn.

As well as not being at any of the other 46 million locations we'd visited, following rumours from newspaper clippings and word of mouth. I was starting to feel a little testy about the whole thing, which was surprising me because I'd been dying for a proper assignment for months now. I'd say I'd suck it up and try to make the best of it, but that's just not my style.

Rude didn't really appreciate my style today.

"What the hell is Rufus playing at trying ta recruit this guy again anyway?" I shouted, smacking my fist against the dashboard and startling my companion. I didn't mean to make him jump but his reaction was amusing and I cackled quietly to myself. I loved annoying Rude. The big guy would never hurt me, even if I actually turned on him in cold blood. He was a killing _machine_ but his loyalty ran so deep that even if I did try and kill him he'd probably just defend himself. He might punch me, but it would only be to knock the sense back into my head. He was a good man… but that's what made making fun of him so… fun. Distracted by this new form of entertainment, I forgot momentarily why I was so angry and began to plot other ways to annoy my companion.

Rude, however, caught on all too fast. Before I could finish drawing little faces on the tips of my fingers in black marker, he made a sharp right turn and pointed ahead.

"Mount Wutai." He said simply, shifting his pointing hand a little to the left. "We park there. Get ready."

I groaned, forgetting my earlier plight, and instead finding myself bothered that we'd arrived so soon. I could still bug my partner on the walk up Wutai Mountain but it just wouldn't be as fun as attempting to cause a car accident by distracting him from the wheel. With a roll of my eyes, I undid my belt and climbed over the seat into the back of the truck. My foot got caught in the hatch and I tumbled down to the floor, groaning again as I heard Rude chuckling in the front of the truck. If Tseng had seen that, he would have called me for being clumsy. Personally, I didn't think I was that clumsy but he made a point of telling me so often - I could tell it bugged him, him being so straight-laced along with a million other things that I wasn't.

"What do we need?" I called to my partner over my shoulder, unzipping one of our duffel bags as the truck began to slow. "I mean, are we riskin' our lives here or what?"

"Wouldn't say that."

"Boring!" I sang, rolling my eyes and pushing the bag aside again in favour of another one.

"Never do know though." He added as I glanced back over my shoulder to see his smirking reflection in the rear-view mirror. I grinned, stuffing a couple of .45 pistols into the holster under my jacket and strapping my mag-rod to my wrist.

"Right on!"

This last line there had been something of a joke between us since the night I'd dropped the plate on Sector 7. I'd been all too eager to do it, not that I wasn't ashamed of this now, for my own personal reasons – a story for another time, and place. In a hurry to get right to it, I'd only slung my two pistols into their holsters, not anticipating the amount of trouble I was getting myself into. It was really, really stupid of me but news of AVALANCHE being incapacitated by one of Don Corneo's monsters had been reported via phone by the man himself and I didn't see anyone else stepping up to stop me. The problem with the people in the Slums is that they don't trust anyone and they don't really have any willpower. I know – I lived in the damn place myself, once upon a time. All you want to do down there is just to survive, but you're not willing to fight for it. Self-defence is one thing but aggression just causes more problems and no one wants that.

Rude had stopped me in the helicopter before I'd jumped out onto the pillar and handed me my mag-rod. Giving him a skeptic look, I had taken it, but made no move to pull it from his hand.

"I just have to reprogram the system. I've got my guns, I should be fine." I told him, shrugging as he shoved it into my hand properly and let go.

"Never do know though." He had shrugged, opening the helicopter door so I could climb out.

As it turned out, I did need the EMR. Everything was going fine; a little resistance, but a couple of shots from my pistols and I'd knocked them right off the pillar… then Cloud and his 'gang' showed up and everything went downhill. For a while, they argued with me – almost like they didn't want to fight me at all. I raised my gun, aimed a shot at the blonde point blank only to find my cartridge empty. And so, out came the mag-rod. I guess I was kind of grateful to Rude for making me take it… it pretty much saved my life; I would have been dead the second I realized that gun was empty if I hadn't had it to hand. Now I have it on me at all times… anyway, my point is, it always gets brought up every freakin' time we remember and it's always pretty funny. Kind of lame, but we are, and I don't have a problem with that in the slightest.

"Gaia, could this fuckin mountain get much higher?" I shouted up at Rude, who was marching ahead like he was taking a Sunday afternoon stroll instead of climbing Mount Wutai. I was scowling my head off, and if my mother could have seen me she would have told me that if I scowled any more, the wind would change and my face would get stuck like that.

I never did quite get what the hell that meant.

"Suck it up, buddy." Rude sighed, shaking his head and more than likely rolling his eyes behind those dark glasses he had on.

"I will not!" I scoffed, jogging to catch up with him on a flatter bit of the mountainside and looking around. "Hey… we haven't been up here since…"

"Elena." He confirmed, shrugging awkwardly. It wasn't really something any of us liked to talk about. Not only was it _that_ time, the time we teamed up with AVALANCHE but I'd also hated the blonde girl up until that point, not to mention how distraught she was after the experience. To this day, I still didn't know what Corneo did to her and that little ninja friend of Strife's. I didn't really want to ask. I think Rude might have known, though.

"Yeah…" I said, considerably quieter than before and suddenly I felt very eager to change the subject again. "So, where we heading, buddy?" I asked, the bounce in my voice returning as I picked up a stick and began to lay waste to the bushes around us. When he didn't reply, I looked up to find him pointing at the small cave further up the mountain. "There? Valentine is hiding in a dank cave? Pffft, doesn't seem likely to me."

"We'll see." He sighed, but he sounded just as doubtful as I did.

A loud screech pierced the air and we span where we stood; three, then four, and more followed the screech again as a swarm of Thunderbirds headed straight for us. "Fer fuck's sake…" I sighed, pulling out my pistol in one swift movement and firing a couple of rounds towards them.

They weren't exactly a tough fight for us but it really was a nuisance to have to kill them before they pecked us to death. With another exasperated sigh, I slid an ice materia into my EMR, using the rod to bat them away from my head before I cast Blizzard. Several of them hit the ground like boulders before I could even charge up another round. I felt the familiar feeling of the ether being drawn from my system, closing my eyes and melting into the strange sensation. It wasn't entirely unlikable.

A few more blasts of blizzard-all and a few rounds of Rude's gun and we'd knocked them all out of the sky. The few that were still alive lay writhing on the ground as their dead comrades faded into the lifestream. I didn't really want to waste any more bullets, so I let myself enjoy the sight of the oversized birds struggling for the last breaths of their lives with a sick, twisted feeling of amusement only a Turk could learn to enjoy.

Rude fared just as well as me, looking about as bothered as I was that we'd just had to wipe out ten of the damn things because they were too stupid to size up an enemy they stood no chance against. I watched the corpse of one of the birds fizzle away to nothing. The world would get along much easier if creatures just learned their place. I mean humans, too; that short clash was entirely avoidable, and the world would still have ten more Thunderbirds in it. "Let's go…" I groaned. He nodded, pressing his glasses further up his nose before he continued up through the rocks.

…And the cave was empty. No trace of human life anywhere inside or around it besides an old, empty broken crate that was rotting away and looked like it had been there for years.

"Fuck's sake!" I yelled, dropping down to use it as a seat. I could swear I was going to go insane this way. "This is fucking hell. He could be anywhere in the fucking world…"

Rude only nodded, leaning back against the rocky wall of the cave and staring at the entrance. "I need a drink." I added, after a moment. "What about we go ta the Turtle -"

I never finished my sentence because another loud shriek outside let us know we were in for trouble yet again. I scowled, pushing my red bangs out of my eyes and prepping my ice materia with ether. I'd never been bothered by using ether or potions, although I knew some people were. Cure materia was a different matter, but if anything I almost liked the sensation of the ether coursing through my system and back out again into the materia in my palm. It was strangely satisfying. Rude hated it; he stayed far away from materia when he could, which was easier nowadays than it once had been. Years and years ago when Rufus' father was still in charge, mastering materia had been an intricate part of being a Turk but since Rufus hated the stuff so damn much he all but left it out of the training program. It didn't matter much anyway, because there weren't many of us left when Rufus took control and we all pretty much knew what we were doing. Elena not so much, perhaps, but she was intelligent enough to figure out the basics on her own.

The shrieking had stopped by the time we left the cave, weapons at the ready, and whatever had been ready to attack had just disappeared. Or at least, that's what I thought, until I caught sight of a bleeding Chekhov crawling towards us that was staring at me with all the menace of a murderer. I whipped up my EMR again, ready to strike should it lunge for my ankle or something, but before I could even aim my strike, a loud gunshot sounded behind us and the damn thing's head exploded.

"Gaia…" I muttered under my breath, staring at it in shock until it had disappeared completely. Only then did I turn to see where the gunshot had come from lest we be in any sort of danger ourselves because either whoever had shot at the monster was a damn good aim, or they'd been aiming for my head and missed badly… or it had been a warning shot.

I didn't know whether to I was supposed to feel more relieved or confused when I survived the next several minutes without being shot in the head but whoever had shot the Chekhov had left as quickly as they'd come and left no trace of their being there at all. We checked the area for anything – broken branches, shotgun shells, even fucking footprints but the search was in vain. I turned to Rude, who had his sunglasses pushed up on his head as he knelt down and examined the rocky area for signs of our saviour; not that we'd actually been in any kind of danger… a dying Chekhov was about as much of a threat to us as an angry kitten. He was looking skeptic, and I just had to ask… "What do we do?"

He shrugged, pulling his glasses back down in front of his eyes as he stood up and brushing the dirt off his knees. "What can we do?"

I considered this for a moment, but there was really no professional answer that I liked the sound of. Maybe we should have stuck around to see if the shooter would return, or gone looking, or something, but I replied with the only reasonable course of action I could think of. "Get really fuckin' drunk?"

He only nodded.

The walk back down a mountain is always more satisfying for three reasons. The first is that it is less tiring than the ascent is. The second is the feeling that the difficult task is over, or in this case, that the job is done, as much as it wasn't. The third, and my personal favourite is knowing that every step of the descent is bring me closer to a bar. I could already see the Turtle's Paradise from where we were and I was really looking forward to a few Wutanese specials. Everything over here – the food, the fruit, the alcohol, even the coffee – tasted different and somewhat phenomenal. If I could handle living so close to nature, I'd want to retire in Wutai and grow old and fat eating piles of delicious rye breads and blue cherries all day long. Maybe I'd do it anyway.

Wutai was completely enveloped in darkness now. The navy sky above us was littered with a few stars, more than I ever saw growing up in Midgar. Many people living in the slums were scared of the open sky, only because they'd never seen it before. Light poked in under the plate from the edges but barely enough during the day to not require streetlamps. The brightest time of day in the slums was always sunset, because the sun was so low in the sky and it poured in through the edges of the slums. It was one of the reasons I loved the sunset so much. The east side slums didn't get even that, with the mountains behind them, so as a kid I spent many unfilled evenings running all the way around just to watch the sun go down on the west side. The east side never really saw light at all.

I could already smell the food from inside the Turtle's Paradise as we approached the doors. I breathed in, my eyes closing in gratitude for the glorious smell that reach my nose. I wasn't hungry, but it made me want to eat anyway. "Alright! I've been lookin' forward ta this fer fuckin' hours!" I grinned, pushing one of the panel doors open and stepping into the warm restaurant.

As usual, it wasn't very busy, and I paid no attention to who else was in there. It was hardly a secret that Wutai relied on tourism for funding these days, ever since the war and everyone in here was probably just a tourist. Taking a seat at the same table we'd used last time we were in the vicinity, I put my feet up on the chair across from me and sighed with a lazy grin. "Nothin' like a hard day's work, eh?"

Rude chuckled, shaking his head as he took another seat across the table. "You didn't really… do much."

"Yer right…" I laughed, "Well, there's nothin' like settling down to a drink ya didn't earn huh?" He smirked, probably rolling his eyes behind his glasses, if I knew him. I laughed again, picking up the drinks menu, pretty sure already what I was going to order.

A couple of rum's later and another drink caught my eye as I lazily scanned the menu. As the waitress came over, I found myself licking my lips slightly at the description; 'a unique blend of aged scotch and Wutanese fruits on ice'. I tapped the menu as I asked what exactly went into it.

"_Reno_?"

That wasn't really the response I was looking for, but it caught my attention none the less. "That's my name." I said, raising an eyebrow as I turned to meet the eyes of the waitress. The young girl looked just as confused to see me as I did to see her and for a moment neither of us spoke.

"And…" She added, biting her lip and breaking eye contact with me to stare at Rude. I could almost see the cog's working in the girl's brain. I decided not to leave her hanging.

"Rude." I finished for her, chuckling slightly. I was horrified at myself for being a little drunk already, but the Wutain people always did make their drinks strong.

"That's the one. What are you two doing here?"

I stared at the young ninja for a moment before I realized she was asking why we were in Wutai and not why we were at a bar. The latter, I thought, had a pretty obvious answer. "We've come fer some delicious Wutanese booze, duh. What about you… uh, Kisaragi, was it? I thought ya would be up in Midgar with Avalanche, not working in some bar."

"It's Yuffie. And I _was_ working with Reeve… but he gave me a break to come see home again." She shrugged, hands on her hips. "Ended up working here out of _complete_ boredom… should have known there's still nothing to do in Wutai!"

"I bet." I laughed, watching as she rolled her eyes dramatically. Rude was staring at her silently, but I could tell he was amused that the girl was acting so dramatic. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be that young.

"It _sucks_! And I've got to wait for Cid because he's _so_ busy right now helping Reeve out with the W.R.O and he can't pick me up for like, three more weeks!" Yuffie scowled, but the smile never left her face as she grinned lop-sidedly at us. "Anyway, what can I get you?"

"One of these," I said, tapping the menu again. "Ya never told me what was in it."

"Right… those? Oh, those are _good_! It's blue cherries, goosegranites and apricots, with '59 scotch and sugar on the rim, kind of like a margarita."

"Bring me three." I grinned, passing her my empty glass before she turned to Rude. He just ordered another brew, which was amusing enough in itself. I never got tired of laughing at the fact Rude couldn't handle his drink. He was more tolerant than Tseng, but for such a big guy you'd expect him to be able to out-drink me. Truth be told, he could barely even out-drink Elena when we all went out together.

"Designated driver huh?" She laughed warmly at Rude, fidgeting a little on the spot as she wrote down his order and cleared away his empty bottle. "Coming _right_ up, boys!"

"Gotta respect that energy." I said, eyes slightly wide as I watched her bounce away from us. Rude nodded, pushing his glasses up onto his forehead.

"Loud though." He chuckled, as she disappeared behind the wooden bar behind us.

"Yer telling me. She's a complete blabbermouth! Remind me to give her a call if we ever need insider information on Avalanche!"

She continued to chat animatedly as she handed our drinks over to us and I sorted out the gil these three cocktails were costing me. I wasn't really one for cocktails normally – I preferred my spirits straight – but any drink with both 'unique' and 'Wutanese' in the description had to be worth the extra money. Before she could tell us every little detail of Tuesti's schedule she was called back to the kitchen and waved to us with a slight grin. "It's pretty funny to be serving drinks to '_the enemy_' you know!" She laughed, turning away, and then back again to add, "Oh! I'll tell Vince that you're here! He'd probably get the shock of his _life_ if he saw you!"

I looked at her as she turned and ran off again, but it wasn't until she sang out "_Vinceeeent_!" through the restaurant that it registered with me what she'd just said.

I turned to Rude to tell him what I'd just discovered but as it turned out, it wasn't entirely necessary as he was staring at me too, with both eyebrows raised. I grinned, turning my attention to my drink. "Not such a useless trip to the bar, huh?" I grinned into it, knocking back the whole sweet and sour drink in one to celebrate the fact that after a whole week of searching blindly, our work had just run right into us.

And at a bar, too - score one for the alcoholics among us!

As I sipped at the second, I contemplated how to approach the ex-Turk. The fact that we were in a bar made it a whole lot easier; we probably wouldn't even look suspicious. He was just an old acquaintance, and he'd have no reason to try and run away, or fly away, or whatever it was the man did.

We took our time, Rude nursing his beer and myself slowly sipping down my second cocktail. I hadn't even half finished it before we sighted him, but unfortunately he was storming out of the restaurant and away from us. I jumped up from my seat, third cocktail to hand as I followed him. "Make sure the ninja doesn't follow us!" I called over my shoulder to Rude, seizing my opportunity, having only brought the drink to keep from wasting it should he just do away with me when I started to bother him. Might as well get drunk before I die.

Rude looked positively horrified at the idea of being left with the ninja girl when I looked back over my shoulder before I left the Paradise. I smirked, pulling panel shut after me; I'd half-expected the man to follow me out but he didn't.

It turned out Vincent hadn't stormed off when I stepped outside. I wish I could have found this out some way other than being smashed into the outside wall of the Paradise but that's how it happened and I almost dropped both drinks.

"What business do you have with Wutai?" He said harshly, pinning me by the neck to the wall with the frightening gilded glove he wore.

"Chill, chill." I groaned, struggling against him and wishing I wasn't holding two glasses that I really wasn't willing to spill at that moment. "None at all… we were looking fer you, actually…"

Red eyes widened slightly at the concept and he loosed his chokehold. I breathed in heavily, chuckling to myself. "You were a total bugger ta find, ya know…"

"What do you want with _me_?"

I met his red eyes, noticing for the first time how unnatural they were. I'd never been this close to the man before. They were quite amazing, shining in the moonlight… and slightly mesmerizing. I shook my head slightly, looking away. "I was wondering why yer in Wutai, actually. Ya seeing that Yuffie chick or something? She's pretty young, Valentine."

"No, I'm not."

"Then why?"

"Do I have to explain myself?"

I contemplated this for a second, shrugging slightly. "No. I'd like to know though. The President has a proposition for ya, actually."

"He's not the president anymore."

"He's still the same guy." I said, a hint of frustration in my voice. "He would like ta offer his thanks to ya fer saving the planet, and fer saving Elena and Tseng…"

"I don't want it."

I grimaced, rolling my eyes. "Don' hear me out then… so, enjoying yer vacation here in Wutai, Valentine?"

The ex-Turk sighed, relaxing slightly and finally letting go of my neck. He turned to lean against the outside of the restaurant, crossing his arms and looking up at the sky. "No. It's hard to relax with Yuffie around constantly."

A wide grin spread across my face as I saw the opening he'd just left me. "Really? Shame ya didn't wanna hear me out then, huh."

"What?"

I smirked, feeling his full attention on me suddenly, and leant back against the wall too, sipping my drink and swirling it around in my mouth for far longer than I needed to just to get on his nerves. "I figured yer hiding out from all the media right?" I asked, pretty sure of myself, glancing sideways at him. He nodded slightly; chin dipping below the collar of his red cloak. "Come stay at the lodge. That's all Rufus asks. No one would bother ya there, and yer continents away from the ninja chick…"

"Why does Shinra want that?" He said, a little venom in his voice. I ignored it, shrugging and holding out the second cocktail to him.

"Drink? I don' want this one. Already pretty wasted…"

"Reno."

"It's not poisoned or nothing! Heh, heh." I grinned, pressing it into his hand. He took it, making no motion to try it as he stared at me sternly. "What?"

"Answer my question, Turk!"

I chuckled, shrugging again as I lit up a cigarette. "Jus ta thank ya I guess. He's trying this whole Mr. Nice Guy thing… I think he saw you and Strife doing it and got jealous, or something…" I took a drag on my cigarette, blowing the smoke out the corner of my mouth and watching it drifting away in the cold sea breeze. "What do ya think?"

He stared at me for a moment longer, almost as if he was expecting me to crack up and tell him I was joking, but I never did and eventually he turned away. "I'll think about it."

"Cool. Rude an' me brought a damn truck which makes fer the longest journey ever but I could always go back fer the chopper if ya really wanna keep a low profile." I mused, staring up at the navy sky and mumbling to myself. "'M sure it'd be okay ta bring it ta Wutai fer jus a little while… if I'm watching it, it won't get ransacked, at least…"

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed he finally pulled the cloak away from his lips and sipped the cocktail I'd given him. I smirked slightly; he'd probably done it absent-mindedly but at least it meant he trusted me a little not to try and poison him. Not that I'd stoop so low. If I intended to kill the man, I would have done so already, or at least tried. Don't know if I could have managed it with that massive gun he kept strapped to his side.

"Hey, wait! Ya didn't happen ta be snooping round Mount. Wutai earlier, did ya?" I slurred, realizing for the first time as I listened to myself talking that I was all but completely drunk now. I chuckled under my breath, taking another drag of my cigarette. He looked round, no surprise in his face.

"Why, someone save your asses?" He said with a hint of amusement in his voice that surprised me slightly. I'd always thought the man to be quite stoic, or otherwise plain angry. I guess if he was going to be staying with us, I was going to have to think of him as a normal person with normal emotions but still; it was an odd revelation to me.

"Wouldn't say that. Chekhov's nothin' ta fear." I laughed honestly, adding with another sip of my drink, "So it was you? Why?"

Vincent turned to look at the sky again, shrugging his shoulders slightly under his cape. "Again – do I have to explain myself?"

I smirked, shaking my head. I was pretty sure we had him now. Perhaps Rufus had been right about where his loyalties fell… "Yer gonna come with us then?" I raised my glass to his; the last inch at the bottom was looking far sweeter than I expected my stomach was able to handle right now.

"I said I'd think about it, Turk." He replied curtly, but his voice held no viciousness and he clinked his glass against mine nonetheless. I smiled to myself, muttering cheers and downing the last of the drink.

"_Vincent_! Hey,_ Vincent_!" cooed a loud, high voice from inside the panel doors and Vincent grimaced as he finished his own in one mouthful.

"Is that yer final answer?" I asked cheekily, tapping my fingers against my empty glass as the doors were thrown open.

He growled under his breath and turned to me sharply, face stern but red eyes slightly desperate. "Just keep her away from me and you've got a deal."


	4. Chapter 4

Author notes: I'm totally assuming their world is as spherical as ours here, which is why they can take a boat between these places. I think it's a pretty safe presumption.

4--

The wind was picking up against the Wutai coast in the early hours of the morning. I yawned, rubbing my eyes and pacing a little back and forth across the stony beach, my red hair blowing wildly around my head. The sun had risen enough in the sky to be blinding, and I was feeling somewhat jealous of my partner's ever present sunglasses. I could have pulled my goggles down, but I left them where they sat in favour of not looking like a bizarre bug. I didn't like my forehead; that was pretty much the only reason I kept them on.

"He said here." I frowned, checking my watch for the third time in the last five minutes. Vincent was supposed to meet us on the beach at 6am and it was now 6:30. The boat was already waiting, docked to the beach quite suspiciously with the truck sitting on the back of it. Valentine didn't strike me as the type of man to be tardy and it was making me anxious. If he'd changed his mind, he could have at least had the courtesy to tell us so I could start bothering him to accept our offer again – then again, the latter may have been exactly why he hadn't told us. "I'm sure he did."

"He'll be here." Rude said calmly, with a certainty I really didn't feel myself.

"Ya sound pretty sure. I'm jus about ready ta snap his lil' neck right now. Standing us up like this is jus plain rude."

Rude snorted, crossing his arms across his chest and continuing to watch the ferry as if it was going to drive off without us. I stamped my feet impatiently and took another brusque look around before I dropped down onto the pebbles and sat there cross-legged, only to keep myself from pacing any more. When I got like this, I tended to irritate even myself, which just made me all the more pissed off at Vincent. If I got angry, I really was going to break the man's neck when he arrived.

It was far too early to be up, anyway.

A 4am start would be nothing unusual back in the old days at ShinRa but years of hiding out had made us all a little lazy and only Tseng tended to be up anytime before 8 in the morning these days. When I could, I'd try and sleep in until 10 but generally my Turk training got the better of me and I was up in time for breakfast. We'd been out of the inn above the Turtle's Paradise at 4:10, and started the long two-hour drive back to the east coast as the sun rose in the sky. I wanted to meet Vincent in Wutai, but he said something about being suspicious and not wanting to be seen leaving with the Turks. I understood his point and we respected his choice but that didn't mean it peeved me off any less.

"Man, this sucks!" I yelled, tugging my cigarette packet out of my pocket and lighting one up hastily. I took a long drag, falling onto my back and letting my eyes slip shut as I exhaled.

"Apologies." Said a deep voice and my eyes shot back open to come in contact with deep crimson ones. They widened slightly at the sight of Vincent standing over me but I was quick to narrow them again, ready to give him an earful about how ticked off I was that he was so late. I scrambled to my feet again, but he just walked past me, offering no explanation for his tardiness. "We should get going."

"Hey! _Hey_!" I called, running after him. Rude followed slowly as the man stepped onto the ramp of the boat. "The hell took ya so long?"

"I was delayed." He explained simply, as if talking to a child. I growled in annoyance, taking another long drag of my cigarette before I helped Rude close the back ramp of the small vessel.

"Alright. Fine. Whatever, yo." I scowled, mostly to myself as I followed my partner and the other man inside the ferry. I stamped across the floor and took a seat, uninvited, next to Valentine who had seated himself on one of the back benches. I gave him a sharp look, before I turned to stare out at the sea instead.

The waves were jumping up like little daggers in the sharp wind, the white tips reminding me of the icing on a cake. I was surprised the boat wasn't rocking more than this – although I couldn't say I wasn't grateful. I love the ocean, but I've been very, very sea sick in the past… anyway… I could slowly see Wutai growing more and more distant behind the boat as we picked up speed, moving faster towards the opposite coast. The boat ride would take longer than the drive from Wutai to the east coast of the continent, and as relaxing as the ocean was… I knew I was going to get bored. I'd been out of my mind with boredom on the way over to Wutai; this was hardly going to be any different unless I could coax conversation out of either of my two silent travelling companions.

"Are ya going ta talk to me?" I asked Vincent about thirty minutes after we'd left shore, my boredom setting in heavily. I tried to keep my voice as unimpressed as I could, because really, I was. Maybe a little disappointed that he was so content with the tense, silent atmosphere and wasn't willing to strike up a conversation, but mainly unimpressed. It was basic courtesy to attempt at least a simple exchange of words with someone you were travelling with, not to mention if you were about to share residence with said person.

I could have easily made conversation with Rude, but this, I told myself, would be rude towards our 'guest'. Not to mention conversation with Rude was a pretty difficult task in the presence of any other person. I wasn't sure if it was just because he was seriously that professional or if he actually felt uneasy doing so but I'd always just accepted it and moved on. Everyone had their little quirks and annoying habits; I was going to allow Rude his.

"If you're going to talk to me, then yes." He replied simply, not looking at me as he spoke. My scowl deepened as I glanced back out at the ocean once more. How could his voice be so emotionless? Listening to him talk, I decided the sound of his voice was barely human… but then again, from what I knew about the man, his body housed some kind of monster and I probably couldn't call him human even if I wanted to. I told myself silently that I really should start reading up on our assignments before I took part, but it wouldn't happen... I felt a little awkward calling this man who could probably claw out my heart without breaking a sweat an 'assignment' anyway.

His voice had held the same expressionless tone every time I'd spoken to him – which wasn't many – before last night. Even when we'd battled AVALANCHE time and time again, I'd never heard him angry. Obviously, the years had changed Vincent Valentine… I took this as a good sign, and tried to ignore the obvious dismissal in his words.

"Hmm. Fine…" I mumbled, watching a big wave splash up over the side of the boat. The wind must have been getting stronger outside… "So… why were ya in Wutai, anyway?"

A thin, dark brow lifted briefly to the question. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

I rolled my eyes and huffed, already sick of hearing this excuse from him. "No, ya don', but I was jus making conversation…"

For a few more minutes, we sat in silence once more. Rude got up after a while and wandered off out onto the deck and I was about to follow him when Vincent cleared his throat. "I was born in Wutai." He said quietly, eyes fixed on the sea even more intensely than mine were.

"Huh?" My head veered round at his quiet words. I hadn't expected _that_.

"I was visiting home." He explained, maybe in case I hadn't heard him right but more likely to put it more simply for me. People had a habit of talking to me like they would talk to a child; it was a massively incorrect judgement because I was probably smarter than most of them. It was just a façade that came with the slum aura everyone from the lower sectors of Midgar seemed to have hanging around them.

Not once did he look at me as he spoke, but instead of it being as insufferable as I usually found it when people did this, I was quietly grateful. Something about those red eyes was so intense when they were fixed on you and I wasn't entirely sure that I liked it. Or at least, if he wasn't looking at me, I didn't feel like so much of an idiot.

"Yer from Wutai?" I said, eyes widening slightly in surprise. He nodded slightly, his chin dipping further down into his red cape and remaining there to hide his mouth entirely.

"You sound surprised." He added, still keeping the emotion out of his voice. The thick cloth dulled the sound of his words and it made him sound oddly frightened. The tone was out of place in the situation and only as I realized this did I notice his eyes had dropped away from the water as he spoke. My observations were probably unrelated but they were so perfectly in time that it almost seemed like he was afraid of the ocean. I cringed slightly, deciding not to press the idea because it was making me feel uncomfortable.

"Ya don' really look like it." I shrugged, shaking off the feeling, as the strained silence fell over us again. Every time, it was getting more and more frustrating. I watched him as he stared absently at the deck of the boat, perhaps deep in thought or maybe fending off inner demons. Hell, that wouldn't be surprising, considering the little I knew about the man.

"My mother was from Wutai." He said eventually, with a slight shrug of his shoulders that shifted his cloak away from his face again. "My father was not."

"Where was he from?"

"Gongaga."

My curiosity was starting to bother him; I could see it in his face. The line of his mouth was tighter than before, his brows drawn closer together and his eyes more distant. This was one of the only situations where putting myself in immediate danger didn't seem quite so fun; I didn't know why, but I was usually the kind of guy who would just accept my feelings and move on. However, I just couldn't resist pushing it a little further. "And the red eyes?"

"I'm going outside." He said coldly, almost cutting me off before I'd finished my question. He stood without looking at me and left the room without another word.

"Nice talking ta you too, Valentine." I muttered, rolling my eyes. I glanced out the window again at Rude, who was staring over the handrail into the ocean, one hand pinning his sunglasses against his face to keep them from dropping into the sea. I shrugged my shoulders a little, half-wondering what could be so fascinating. I could already feel the boredom setting in again.

Minutes later, I was in hot pursuit of Vincent. If there was anything more boring on a long trip than having a frustrating conversation with someone, it was not having any conversations at all. At the lodge, I didn't mind spending time alone but I really couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes. I liked being on my feet, that was the long and short of it; I was an active guy. Being on a boat was like being trapped when you were bored and there'd be hell if I couldn't find something to do. Following Vincent was definitely something to do.

"Valentine!" I called from the stairs as I made my way up to the top deck where he had disappeared. "Wanna hear something funny?"

The man frowned as I strolled casually up beside him, a cigarette twirling between my fingers. It was far windier up here than I'd expected. "Okay." He said grimly, his intense eyes screaming in disapproval. I wasn't sure if it was because I'd followed him or because I was smoking but it wasn't a nice thing to look into someone's eyes and see, that's for sure.

"So do I. Know any good jokes?" I asked cheekily, grinning against the cancer stick between my teeth.

"No." Vincent replied indifferently. I snickered and rolled my eyes, leaning right over the handrail to look for Rude. He was still on the deck below where he had been when I'd raced outside. I would have questioned what he was doing if he was anyone besides Rude but I let my partner off easy. I gave him enough of a hard time regularly anyway.

"Hey Rude! Know any good jokes?"

Rude turned his head to look up at me, pushing his glasses up the ridge of his nose again. "Why did the Chocobo cross the road?" he yelled back after a moment. I cackled to myself.

"Because it was lost!"

Rude had never been good with jokes.

When we had first become partners, and friends in time, I'd tried to make him laugh all the time. I'd tried every joke I knew but he had a horrible habit of pointing out what was completely impractical and stupid about each and every one of them. At first it really annoyed me, but I learned to love that about him. It took me some time to realize he wasn't being completely ignorant and in fact, he found the whole idea of spoiling my fun completely hilarious. He just didn't laugh at his own jokes. This made it even funnier, as far as I was concerned.

"That wasn't funny." Vincent said sternly as I tried to haul myself upright, stomach aching with the laughter that had sent me reeling over soon after I'd spoken. He was right, but I could pretend to blame the rocking of the boat for the fact I'd fallen over so I didn't feel the need to explain myself. I shook my head, grinning like an idiot.

"Nope!" I chirped, taking another drag of my cigarette and giving up the battle to stand upright again. I slid down the railing until I was seated on the floor beside his feet. I don't think I ever noticed before then that he wore the same strange gilded armour on his feet that he did on his left hand. I'd ask him about that some other time. "You walked out on our conversation." I huffed, looking up at Vincent.

"You ask too many questions." He replied simply. I decided it was probably better for my own health not to mention that I had hundreds more should I ever get the chance to ask them all.

"Sorry." I said honestly. It had occurred to me that I was probably making him regret his decision to leave Wutai and I found myself really hoping he didn't find me as annoying as the ninja. I think I'd probably shoot myself. "Jus one more? Please?"

He said nothing for a moment, staring off into the horizon as he thought about my request. He opened his mouth to speak, his jaw slightly agape with the words that had caught in his throat, but still Vincent said nothing.

"Come on, man. Don' leave me hanging here. I'm bored."

"Fine." He said eventually, a soft sigh leaving his lips. "One."

I grinned, tapping my fingers against the wooden floor of the top deck as I chose a question out of the many I had in mind. I'd wanted to change the subject entirely to try and bring the conversation back to life but there was just one thing that had me so curious I couldn't think straight.

"If ya worked fer ShinRa, how're ya allowed back in Wutai? Tseng is banned fer life." I asked, staring up at his chin and poking myself in the forehead a few times for emphasis. I didn't see Vincent sporting any embarrassing black marks on his face.

"Different generations. I left long before the war began and few of the people living in Wutai even recognize me as more than the hero figure I am for the east. No one knows I worked for ShinRa. It probably wouldn't matter even if they did."

"Before the war began?" I asked in surprise, ignoring the fact he'd just said more in one mouthful than I'd ever heard him speak because I wasn't entirely sure how possible this was. The war had lasted a good 30 years, on and off. Looking at him, he couldn't have even been that old… "How _old_ are ya?"

"You said one question, Reno." Vincent reminded me sternly, a sharp look telling me he meant that. Those red eyes only fixed on mine for a moment, but even after he'd turned away I could feel them burning into my skull. I shivered uncomfortably; I could always put it down to the cold wind if he asked.

"Right, sorry." I grumbled, pulling myself to my feet again finally and leaning back over the handrail. If I wasn't going to get answers to my questions directly I'd find another way to do it. What kind of Turk would I be if I couldn't interrogate someone without them realising? I snickered under my breath and grinned inwardly. "Man, I love the sea! Don' you? It's jus so massive and beautiful but it's vicious as an angry beast…"

I trailed off when I noticed him tense up as I spoke. Maybe he really was frightened of the ocean… The idea made me slightly sad. What was there about the sea to be afraid of? It was just a big pond, if you thought about it. Besides the power of the water itself, there wasn't even that much to be afraid of out here – no beasts would attack you this far out and we very, very rarely got tornadoes. "Don' you agree?" I asked honestly, by voice a little lower, trying not to let him guess what I was assuming about him.

"No." Vincent said harshly, and turned away from the handrail. I watched him walking away, feeling sorry for the guy all of a sudden. Whatever he was trying to hide behind that thick red cape of his, I could tell there were some issues running deep there; it was a grim thought and I cursed myself again for not finding anything out about the man before the trip.

I suppose I should have quit here but never one to let any moody bastard rain on my parade, I sucked it up and chased after him again. "No? What do ya mean no? How can ya not like the sea?"

"Enough questions!" He snapped back over his shoulder as he descended the stairs. I jumped down two at a time to catch up.

"It scares you?"

"I never said that…"

"Then why don' ya like it? Did something happen?"

"_Reno_!" He snarled, spinning round suddenly and grabbing the open collar of my shirt. He caught me completely off-guard and seconds later I was slammed against the side of the boat, lifted completely off my feet. His chest was pressed harshly against mine to hold me there, and I was very aware of the pistol barrel pressed against my throat.

I suppose I should have expected it really.

"Okay, okay! I'll drop it!" I choked against the cold gun. He was incredibly fast, maybe almost as fast as I was when I was concentrating. Obviously, I hadn't been. I really hoped I wasn't going to be making a habit out of getting slammed against walls by this guy. It was nothing I hadn't been through before but when Valentine had me by the throat, it was just so much more intimidating than usual. I blamed those crimson eyes. They were so close to mine and they were glaring in cold blood. A shiver ran down my spine and I shut my eyes to try and block them out but I could still see them flaring up in the black of my mind.

He huffed and let go, leaving me to drop unceremoniously to the floor as he continued down the stairs, seemingly satisfied with the fear he'd just instilled into me.

Perhaps a shame for him, but as soon as it was there, it was gone again. He wasn't so fucking intimidating when he wasn't looking at me. I rubbed my spine and decided I really did have to stop letting him do that… if anything, at least, it didn't do my back any good.

Finally, I decided to actually drop it. It would have been smart to do so ages ago, but I wasn't the kind of guy who let anyone get the best of me. As I stood up, he disappeared around the corner and out of sight but I didn't follow him again; it'd probably be better for my health to let him cool off now. I rounded the bottom of the staircase myself to find Rude exactly where I'd left him, staring down into the water.

"Rude, my man!" I grinned, joining him. "What we staring at?"

He pointed down into the water with his free hand.

"Dolphins?"

Rude nodded, pulling off his sunglasses to look at me. "They've been following the boat ever since we left shore."

I bobbed my brows, snickering. "What's wrong with that? Do ya think they're spyin on us? New Wutai bio-technology?"

"No, Reno." He sighed, putting the glasses back on again and turning to lean back on the rail. "I just think it's neat."

"Oh," I said quietly, shrugging my shoulders slightly. Leave it up to my big, murderous looking partner to find dolphins neat. "I still think spy dolphins would be cool, though."

"You're bleeding." Rude pointed out, ignoring my stupidity and frowning slightly. I looked down at my chest to find he wasn't joking. Vincent's claw had scraped my chest through the fabric of my shirt; I hadn't even noticed.

"Oh. Oh, yeah." I chuckled nervously, wiping it up with my torn shirt. "I had a little run in with Valentine just now."

Rude's hand shot to the mag-rod he kept strapped to his belt. "He hurt you?"

I shook my head, waving a hand at him dismissively. Leave it up to Rude to jump to my protection, too. His grip on the EMR loosened and he cleared his throat anxiously. "I don' think he meant ta cut me. I'll be fine buddy, I'll jus go clean this up." I explained, shooting him a reassuring grin as I made for the inside cabin again. I didn't have any spare shirts, which was annoying, but that wasn't what was pissing me off.

"Hey, slick!" I snapped, as soon as I caught sight of Vincent inside the ferry. "Ya made me bleed, ya bastard!"

He glanced up slowly, and then looked back down at his knees. He had his legs drawn up on the bench, one arm draped around them and his phone held tightly in his other hand, hanging at his side. Why he had his phone out, I didn't know. I wasn't about to bother him with more questions, even if the answer to this one was probably important to my job. Looking at it, I reminded myself to call in as soon as I picked up a signal on the PHS so I could tell Rufus we'd succeeded. "My apologies." He said, as stoically as ever. I huffed, stamping my foot slightly as I headed for the washroom. As much as I wanted to stick around and yell at him, I had to wash the blood out before it stained and I ruined yet another shirt. Getting all bloody was a bad habit of mine and while it didn't really bother anyone else – although everyone thought it was pretty gruesome – I really hated shopping. Even if it was just to buy plain white shirts. I really _hated _shopping.

"Rude!" I called, strolling out topless onto the deck with my wet shirt in one hand and my jacket slung over my shoulder. The sun was high enough in the sky to be hot now; we must have been travelling for at least an hour or so, and I planned on hanging my shirt out to dry. The only problem with this plan was that I'd have to hide inside the cabin again or otherwise get completely sunburnt. It had happened before, and I think I was the only person who didn't see the funny side of my face looking as red as my hair. Sometimes I really hated my pale skin.

Most people from the slums had pale skin; it came with the territory and the lack of natural light but my own was a trait I inherited from one of my parents. I hadn't known for a long time because growing up in the slums, everyone was as white as a sheet. It was only after ShinRa dragged me up to the top of the plate and told me I looked incredible ill that anyone found out. My 'condition' didn't improve after several months working assignments in the sunlight and the doctors gave up and admitted it had to be genetic.

"Did ya call headquarters yet?" I asked absently as I tied the shirt to the railing of the boat by its sleeves. "Otherwise I'll go do it now."

"I was worried about the time difference." Rude said apologetically but I waved my hand at him to shut him up.

"Nah, it's okay. I shoulda remembered anyway. Go check up on Valentine or somethin'. He was doing somethin' funny with his phone before."

Rude nodded, straightening up his posture as his hand came to rest on his EMR. I chuckled as he walked away; he looked so professional sometimes, he could give Tseng a run for his money. One of the two men in the cabin was going to leave feeling a little more intimidated than they had been, that was for sure. I snickered at the idea of Vincent getting frightened as I fished around in my jacket pocket for the PHS.

There was little signal so I ventured back up to the top deck, pulling on my jacket as I did so to protect my back from the sun. It was still early enough to stand out here for at least a few more minutes before I had to hide in the cabin without getting completely barbequed.

It was taking a little longer to connect than usual; I glanced at my watch, wondering who would be awake. It was just past 8 here, and as far as I knew the time difference between Wutai and Kalm was only an hour. Tseng would probably be the only one up and about at Healin… maybe he was in the shower or something.

Finally I heard the dial tone telling me I'd connected.

"We got the son of a bitch and we're on our way back!" I declared to Tseng happily.

"Reno?"

"_Rufus_? Yer up pretty early! I mean – sorry sir – I…"

"You thought Tseng would answer the phone. He and Elena are currently on an assignment of their own… please mind your language in future, Reno. That is no way to speak to a superior whether it be Tseng or myself." Rufus said sternly. "I understand that you have Valentine though, am I correct?"

"Sure do, sir," I told him sheepishly, silently scolding myself for my presumption. "We're on the boat back. Should be in the grasslands by tonight… – wait, ya sent them away? So yer alone in the lodge? I don' think that's wise, sir…"

The boat had begun to rock in the wind. The movement was gentle, but it didn't sit well with me. I leant against the rail and closed my eyes in a feeble attempt to ignore the feeling it was stirring up in my stomach.

"I am perfectly capable of protecting myself for a few days, Reno."

"A few _days_? It couldn't have waited 'til we were back?" I groaned.

"Something came up rather suddenly. Are you alright Reno? You don't sound so sharp." Rufus asked me, voice clearly unimpressed that I should question his decision to leave himself unprotected. His concern for my wellbeing was hardly heartfelt either, but I found myself appreciating it anyway as my stomach lurched suddenly.

"Jus fine sir. A little sea sick I think."

"I thought you liked the ocean."

"How'd ya know that? I mean – I do, jus not boats really…" I groaned, rubbing my head with my free hand. Maybe it was yesterdays drinks coming back to haunt me. I hadn't felt this bad on the journey out here. Then again, I had slept most of the way, having bored myself stupid.

"Very well then. I expect you back here by midnight." He affirmed as I took a longing glance towards the back of the boat and headed that way as fast as I could without running. "Reno?"

"Sorry sir, sure thing. Think I'm gonna hurl…" I muttered, hanging up the phone before he could speak another word.

I hated being sea sick. When I'd been learning to fly the Puma it had been the same sensation; sometimes it wouldn't hit you, but the times it would it'd hit faster than you could blink and you'd feel like you were about to pass out. I could see spots as I shoved the PHS back into my pocket and ran towards the back of the ferry.

Just in time too, because as soon I had knelt and leant over the back of the craft I felt the familiar feeling of vomit crawling back up my throat and I was sick. And, it hurt. The problem was, I hadn't had time for breakfast when we'd left Wutai earlier that morning and I hadn't eaten the day before because we'd been too busy looking for Vincent so I was pretty much just throwing up alcohol and the lining of my stomach.

Somewhere in the back of my head, I realized this was probably why I'd managed to get completely wasted the night before but I didn't care at that moment anymore than I cared about the hand that wrapped around my ponytail to keep the hair from falling around my face.

After a minute or so of throwing up, I found I was just dry heaving and that hurt even more than actually being sick so I tried to suck it up. I sat back on my heels, my loose suit jacket slipping off my shoulders; for the first time since I'd taken my shirt off I realized how cold the zipper of my jacket felt against my skin.

I can't say I wasn't surprised when I looked up to find Vincent holding my hair. It was wrapped around his fingers, the red looking not at all out of place against the black of his gloves. Red and black went well on him; his eyes, his hair, his cloak and his outfit… _my_ hair… he let go of the long strands as my eyes met his, and looked out at the West continent as it finally slipped out of sight. "Sea sick? I thought you 'loved the sea'." He pointed out, his voice absolutely void of expression.

"…I do… jus not good with boats..." I explained again, feeling a little déjà vu over the fact I'd just been asked the same thing twice. Vincent nodded, pausing as he turned away from the back of the boat to look at the horizon one last time.

"Yo Valentine," I called after him as he walked away. He stopped and glanced back over his shoulder. "Uhh… thanks… for that." I laughed nervously, taking hold of my hair to show him what I meant.

"You were almost sick on my feet." He huffed, continuing down to the other end of the boat. I watched him walk away, probably looking a complete state myself as I shrugged my jacket back on properly.

"Reno, time to go."

I'd gone back inside after throwing up, laying on one of the benches out of the sunlight to try and calm my stomach down. Throwing up had given me one hell of a headache but I'd fallen asleep in a couple of minutes and, I guess, slept the rest of the way. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before; neither had Rude, who had to put up with me begging to play cards again. I'd been so drunk that I would have lost a lot of gil if he'd challenged me, but Rude was too much of a good friend to waste a drunken man like that and I can't say I don't appreciate it every time.

I yawned, rubbing my eyes and looking out the window at the coast before glancing at my watch. We'd landed ashore and it was just past ten pm now; we'd made good time. In theory, there would be a second truck waiting on the shoreline to take us to the Chocobo Farm, where we'd left the chopper behind the barn and paid off the farmers to keep their traps shut. We'd set off in the chopper immediately, and land an hour later outside Healin. In _theory_.

"The fucks the fuckin truck?" I yelled, throwing up my arms in distress. We'd waved the ferry off some twenty minutes ago; it would be heading to Mideel now to deposit the truck we'd used in Wutai. I cursed the fact that we had to hop between vehicles all the time to travel undetected. Anyone trying to track us would be following rented vehicles booked under false names all over the world. It was almost a failproof measure and if anyone had tracked us this far, they would lose sight of us in the cover of darkness. Although, perhaps not, if I was yelling. Like I cared!

Vincent shot me a sidelong glance, letting me know just how much he disapproved of my extensive vocabulary. My partner simply crossed his arms in front of his chest and told me calmly "It'll come."

"Yeah but when? Ya know as well as I do that Rufus hates it when we turn up later than we said!" I groaned, flopping down onto my butt on the grass.

"What time did you agree?" Rude asked uneasily; again, I wasn't sure if he was nervous about being late or just unhappy about Vincent's presence. I'm normally a good friend to my buddy but right now I didn't care either way. This assignment was definitely proving to be much more effort than I thought it was worth. We didn't need Valentine. He could rot in Wutai with the ninja chick for the rest of his life, for all I cared.

"Midnight."

"We can make midnight if you fly fast." He assured me, but I wasn't so sure.

"What if she needs refuellin'? I'm not lettin' my baby die midflight! We'll never make it."

My skeptic outlook seemed to set in heavily and no one spoke for a moment. I didn't expect Vincent even cared, unless he was concerned about the President being in a bad mood when we arrived. That was all I cared about, to be honest. I didn't want my pay docked or something because of some unreliable truck. I hoped the man would at least try and contain himself for our 'guest'.

A few minutes in silence had me bored out of my skull.

"Maybe one of us should go look fer it. Valentine, you can fly can't ya?" I jibed, stifling my laugh as I looked up at him. "Go float around and take a look or something.

"What?" He said sharply, turning to stare at me. His red eyes glinted in the moonlight.

"Fly. Magic cape, right?"

"I've no idea what you're talking about." Vincent said slowly, one eyebrow raising and disappearing behind his mass of hair. I finally allowed myself to smirk, testing his patience one more time. It was more fun that it probably looked and I wasn't going to miss an opportunity. After all, there were no walls in the grasslands he could slam me up against…

"Reno." My partner warned sternly, but I ignored him.

"Am I right? That's why yer always wearing it… Must be. Can't see any other reason to wear a stupid red cape."

I was right about there being no walls in the grasslands but I decided it was probably a mistake to assume that I was completely safe as he dropped down on top of me and his leather bound forearm smashed into my chest. My head hit the ground behind me and in the moment I was stunned I heard the clink of metal, a low rumble and the sound of two guns being cocked.

I blinked a few times, trying to focus on the velvety sky as I came to my senses. I made a move to rub my head, which is when I realized Vincent had my arms pinned down with his knees and was sitting on my stomach. Finally I looked at the amusing scene right in front of me, ignoring the triple-barrelled pistol that had wound up pressed against my throat again.

It looked like Vincent had blocked the strike of Rude's mag-rod with his claw and now the big guy had his own gun pointed at Valentine's forehead. The two were staring each other down but neither made a move until I started laughing.

"Gaia, that hurt." I snickered breathlessly, still finding myself winded, and writhed under Vincent. I screwed up my face in mock pain and he finally withdrew his pistol as Rude lowered both his weapons. "Ya know, ya might wanna get off me now, Valentine, or it's gonna seem like yer getting sweet on me or somethin."

His red eyes flared as he got up, hauling me to my feet with him, only to push me to the ground a second time as he stalked away. I hissed as I landed awkwardly, laughing through my pain. Despite the fact I was going to end up looking pretty run in at this rate, I just couldn't resist taunting the strange man.

Rude clamped a hand on my shoulder and pulled me upright again effortlessly. "What do you think you were doing?" He asked as I nursed my bruised back, but he sounded more concerned than he was angry.

"All in good humour buddy." I grinned, making a move to follow Vincent again when suddenly that low rumble I'd heard became much more prominent. We all drew our weapons, even Vincent, the moment we were aware of the cloud of dust building in the distance. It was moving forwards at an alarming rate and we all stood motionless, prepared to defend ourselves.

A flurry of yellow feathers and warking erupted from the dust as a group of saddled chocobos raced towards us, the leading one ridden by a young boy. They slowed as they approached, but did not stop; "Help!" The boy cried out, and it was then I realized the rumbling hadn't been caused by the birds but instead by a heard of Elfadunk that was chasing them.

There were only four of the damn things but they were massive; the sheer size of them and their yellow eyes glinting in the moonlight probably frightened the living daylights out of the kid but still, they were easy work for a Turk and Vincent didn't look in the slightest bit bothered either, nor surprised for that matter.

I guess it was an unspoken decision that we were going to help the boy because we all moved forward at the same time to take on the beasts. I leapt into the air, EMR raised and the other hand reaching round to the materia pouch on the back of my belt to pull out a lightning materia. My eyes closed as I struck down with my mag-rod, casting bolt3 into the creature's skull as the blow landed. The mako in my veins ignited; the feeling of it coming alight inside my body was one of the only things I didn't like about using materia. It's not that it felt terrible, quite the opposite, but it had memories hanging off it like you'd never believe. When I'd had enough time to prepare with ether like I had on Mount Wutai, I liked the feeling but because of the mako injections Turks and Soldier received, doing so was not entirely essential and I hadn't really had time to spare in this case. There was more mako in my body than that of any average Soldier 1st Class but that's another story for some other time when an Elfadunk isn't rearing its ugly head my way.

It was stunned for a moment and I caught its tusk, propelling myself under the beast to blast its stomach open with both my pistols. My EMR trailed along behind me on its strap as I skidded to a stop in the dirt behind the Elfadunk, only to find myself in motion again seconds later as it bucked backwards and caught me with one of its massive clawed feet.

I didn't get far because the claws sank deep into my leg as they struck and I was thrown up into the air above the massive creature. Swallowing a cry of pain, I focused on it through blurry eyes and let off another round of bullets into the top of its skull. As I came crashing down, so did the beast and I landed awkwardly on its back, hearing something in my body snap. Ignoring the screaming pain in my left arm, my other hand fumbled in my pocket for a HiPotion. I had a couple left when I'd checked in the morning, drinking one to throw my hangover.

My hand shaking, I brought the small vial to my lips and opened it with my teeth. Pouring the bitter liquid down my throat and cringing at the taste, I let myself slide down the Elfadunk's corpse as it began to fizzle and melt away before I inspected my left arm. It wasn't completely broken, but that didn't make the situation any less alarming. I shrugged off my jacket, planting myself behind a boulder and out the way of my companions fighting. My shirt was a bloody mess again; I scowled loudly to myself, shredding away the ruined fabric to find my splintered bone sticking out beside my elbow.

"Fuck," I muttered through the pain, really hoping Valentine had a cure materia on him. I didn't carry then when I had enough HiPotions because I hated the effect the fucking stuff had on me and Rude sure as hell didn't have any. He wouldn't touch materia. Tearing the rest of my sleeve from the shirt, I twisted it into one strip and started binding my arm above the break to stop the blood flow.

I almost had it secure, the fabric caught in my teeth to pull it tight, when the ground below me began to shake, 6 spiny legs protruding from the ground. "Fuck!" I muttered again, jumping backwards over the boulder as the muddy ground cracked and the skull of the Death Claw broke through. Now, whilst the ugly fuckers were common in the grasslands, I knew a summoned beast when I saw one. I'd bet on those Elfadunks not being a random encounter either at this point. Scrambling away before it saw me, I screamed to my comrades, "The hell is going on?"

I kept my bloody arm loose at my side as I made my way to my partner, as the last of the Elfadunks came crashing down. Rude gave me a questioning look as I got closer, Vincent joining us as he holstered his gun.

"Someone's summoning this shit!" I informed them, more disconcerted than I'd felt since the Remnants.

"What happened to your arm?" Rude asked in shock, reaching out to inspect it. I shied away and shook my head, pointing behind me. "No time. I'm fine. Look, Death Claws, 6 o'clock."

Both men followed my pointing finger with their eyes, looking dramatically less concerned when they spotted the beasts that had me in a panic.

"We can handle them, stay here." Rude said calmly, reloading his pistol. I shook my head, grabbing his arm to stop him.

"I said someone is _summoning_ these fucking monsters, big guy!" I hissed. It sounded like a load of bullshit to me too, so I wasn't surprised they looked unconvinced. No one should have known we were here, or even who we were, and I hadn't sensed anyone hiding out… if I hadn't seen it happen myself, I'd be just as unconvinced of my declaration. "Jus came out the fuckin ground underneath me. We're in some deep shit here."

"Did you see where that kid went?" Vincent asked in a low voice, narrowing his eyes and pulling out his pistol again. He blasted a fire-all at the approaching beasts to knock them back a few feet.

"Ran straight past us, yo."

"I'm going after him." Vincent growled, placing a hand on my shoulder as he spoke. I tried to shrug it off uneasily - I wasn't good with anyone other than the people I'd come to know as my superiors showing me authority – but he held it firm as he continued. "Deal with this and stay here."

"No fucking way, Valentine." I snarled in response. "Yer gonna run off on us, aren't ya? Did _you_ summon that shit?"

"Do not try and pin this on me." He said sternly, red eyes fixing on my own in a few moments of silence. "I'll come back."

I didn't really have much choice but to believe him, since he took off at a run right then that I couldn't match with the gashes in my leg, but even if he hadn't, something in those fiery eyes told me just to trust him on this.

"Watch out Reno!" Rude warned, grabbing me by the same shoulder Vincent had and pulling me out the way of one of the Death Claw's deadly embraces. I shook my head to bring myself out of my stupor, not giving myself time to wonder what it was about those eyes that had stunned me stupid.

The Death Claws receded into the Lifestream. We'd managed to take them out just fine without getting hurt… any further, at least. Rude was inspecting my arm because no amount of telling him I was going to be fine kept him from doing so.

"Let's hope Vincent has a restore." He said, scratching his head.

"That's what I thought when I saw it," I chuckled, poking the protruding bone.

A distant warking drew my attention away from my injuries and I could see the same herd of chocobos closing in on us again, a lot slower this time and Vincent had apparently kept his word, seated on one of the leading birds.

"The hell?" I questioned as they stopped beside us. He frowned, dismounting the bird in one swift movement and landing beside me.

"I thought you said we were waiting for a truck." He said grimly, looking disgusted as he pulled a chocobo feather out of his cloak.

"Wha-"

"The truck broke down up near the farm. Father sent me down here with these to pick you up." The boy squeaked before I could finish my question. He stroked the neck of the bird he was sitting on with a nervous smile. "But those big things came out of the ground a few miles back. The birds are exhausted from running…"

"So exhausted that they can't get us back?" I growled, glaring at one of the yellow animals, just as disgusted as Vincent now. We were going to be late, I was bleeding, and most importantly, I hated riding chocobos. I couldn't think of anything worse than sitting on the back of some dumb animal and thumping along across the flatlands… give me a hunk of metal with a 20 gallon engine any day.

"No sir." The boy stressed, flexing a hand towards the bird. "They're faster than the truck, anyway. If we leave now we'll be at the farm in twenty minutes."

I glanced at the two men beside me before giving the boy a long, unforgiving frown and agreeing to ride the stupid chocobos; I wasn't happy about it but if it got us back that fast, there was no argument. Better to smell of stinking bird than to have Rufus taking a sledgehammer to my head for being late; I did want to get out of here after all, still uneasy about the idea of being attacked on purpose, and possibly watched from the shadows.

"Your arm…" Rude reminded me as I made a move to mount one of the birds, distracting me from my discomforting thoughts. Well, there _was_ that issue too.

"My arm can wait!" I hissed, scrambling ungracefully on its back and cursing the loud warking noises it made. They were hardly music to my ears. "If I have ta leave my baby at that damn farm for any longer I'm gonna go crazy!"

Rude knew there was no arguing when I had my chopper on my mind.

Most of the ride was in complete silence save the constant string of curses that came out of my mouth as we thudded towards our destination, which was enough to send any religious man reeling. There was absolutely nothing fun about riding chocobos; I didn't understand the people that raced them at the Golden Saucer day after day. Not only was the thought nauseating, that whole theme park was one giant scam.

Rude looked just as bothered as me, although he kept his mouth shut about it. Vincent however, as uncomfortable as he'd looked on the bird earlier, took the whole trip in his stride. He looked as natural in the saddle as anyone ever could when riding a giant yellow bird. "Fuckin Wuk." I muttered my breath. It was a name I hadn't used in a good ten years and for good reason too; Tseng had cracked my head open with the butt of his pistol when I'd called him that. It was probably the worst thing you could call someone from Wutai but I was really fucking pissed off right now, not to mention in pain. "Bet he was raised by fuckin chocobos…"

"We're almost there," pointed out the boy in front, who was acting as our guide. It was pretty humiliating to be outdone by a kid, as he looked just as natural as Valentine did on the back of the chocobo, but this boy probably _was_ raised by chocobos if he was living on the farm and I just didn't have it in me to insult him. The Elfadunks had scared him shitless enough and he had come all this way alone just to get us.

He wasn't lying; the farm came into view about a mile in front of us. As bumpy as riding was, I found myself dying to go faster and faster, if only to get into my own big metal bird. I'd never called my house a home when I was a kid; the apartments in the old ShinRa building had been close to one and Healin wasn't so far off anymore but being in the Puma felt more like home than anything. And as they say, there's nothing like coming home…

"You're really going to fly with your arm like that?"

I glanced round at Vincent as I started up the helicopter and scoffed. "What choice do I have? I don' see you jumpin in ta heal me, Valentine."

I returned to my work, checking the fuel gage and the engine fluid to make sure we wouldn't be dropping straight out of the sky anytime. I pressed down on both pedals, and finding one to be a little stiff, ducked under the dashboard to check for blockages. Unfortunately for me, I bashed my fucking left arm against the gearstick on the way down and cried out in pain.

"I couldn't heal it like that if I tried. The bone is sticking out."

"No shit," I hissed through gritted teeth. I was feeling a little light headed from the blood loss; I'd wadded up my jacket against the wound a while ago, and now that was stained too. Flying wasn't the best idea but we had little other choice and at least Rude would be beside me to catch the controls should I pass out.

Rude had argued, when we'd reached the farm, that I should let him fly. He was a competent pilot in his own right, but too slow as far as I was concerned and we were running out of time. I didn't really like to let anyone else touch my baby anyway. He'd given in, reluctantly but silently, when I'd tried to hit him. I was frustrated enough as it was; I didn't need him trying to steal the only thing that was going to calm me down.

"I can fix it if you'll let me." Vincent offered, his voice as emotionless as ever.

I looked round at him sharply again, meeting his red eyes and cursing myself for doing so. "No fuckin shit," I said again, more spitefully than before. "The hell didn't ya say something, bonehead?"

"Come here." He commanded, patting the bench close to the open helicopter door. I slid across to him, eyes narrowed the whole time. He frowned, taking hold of my arm and looking up at me. "It'll hurt like a bitch."

My eyes widened as he warned me, but only in surprise because I hadn't heard the man swear before and the curse word sounded foreign coming from him. I wasn't scared of the pain. "Like I care. Can't hurt worse than it does now."

Vincent nodded, his frown deepening as he gripped my wounded arm in both hands, his gilded claw pressing into my elbow like a pair of pliers.

And then he snapped it.

Not a seconds warning, or anything. I cried out in pain like a dying animal; I could hear the stupid chocobos inside the barn warking in panic at the sound, even through the searing in my ears. I was blind with the spots in my eyes and my mouth hung open in another silent scream; faintly, I heard the hiss of materia as Vincent cast Cure2 on the broken bone.

And then, just like that, I was okay again.

I shifted in my seat whilst the pain evaporated and I felt the muscle and bone and flesh knitting back together again; as my vision and my hearing cleared, I began to remember why I hated restore materia so much. I would have yelled and lashed out at Vincent if I was in any other state besides the one I was in but I didn't really have that option.

Maybe it was something in the mako they used for Restore. I guess it had to be, although I'd always been too embarrassed to ask anyone else if the materia affected them in the same way. Red eyes watched me expectantly; I hoped he couldn't see the complete euphoric _bliss_ in my own as I looked around desperately for some way to escape. My eyes landed on the blood splattered on my dashboard.

"Gross!" I yelled, my voice a little higher than it should have been. "Ya gonna fuckin clean that up? Ya could have told me it would be messy, dammit…" I snapped, wriggling out of the helicopter and past him without giving him time to reply.

Damn fucking materia. I was _horny_ as high _hell_.


	5. Chapter 5

5 --

I stalked around the farm for the next five minutes, rubbing my arm; it didn't hurt any longer but I kept expecting it to. None of the chocobos nor the scattered kids tending them in the barn paid me much attention despite my haggard appearance and with the cover of darkness, I moved around pretty unnoticed to everyone.

To me, every step I took was like a tiny dose of Viagra. My blood was on fire and the heat was pumping down between my legs. I muttered a string of curses as I paced, not entirely sure I could fly this distracted.

For a fairly promiscuous man like myself, I usually didn't mind being horny. I'm not saying I was a whore; how I saw it, whatever might have occurred in the past, however regrettable, belonged in the past, anyway. I didn't see anyone raising the issue, so if I chose to forget about it, I would. I was just a man who liked sex. I liked the chase when I found a target in the corner of a bar, I liked a feminine body, I liked pleasure and I could appreciate beauty. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing wrong with that. The problem with the materia getting me horny was not knowing how long it was going to last, or how to suppress it. On most occasions, I just went out, got drunk and slept with the most willing participant and that sated my out-of-control libido.

Right now I didn't have any way to do so. There was no one I could just sleep with, nor was there anywhere I could go to relieve myself and most importantly, I was supposed to be flying a big fucking hunk of metal half way across the continent right now.

"Reno."

The single word had me stopping in my tracks and I turned back to the door of the barn to pay attention to my partner. I decided on the spot that all I could do was ignore it, pull my ripped shirt down further to cover my groin and try to distract myself.

"That's my name." I replied with a lazy grin, walking up beside him and tagging along as he left the barn to return to the chopper. He didn't need to speak to tell me it was time to go; we were already going to be late and I wasn't looking forward to the repercussions.

"Arms all fixed!" I pointed out, scolding myself mentally because this didn't really run along the lines of 'ignoring the problem'.

"So I see."

"Hurt though."

"So I _heard_." Rude said with a suppressed smirk.

"Ahh, shut up." I cackled waving him away from me as we reached the helicopter. "We're gonna be in so much trouble when we get back, man…"

"We'll be fine."

Rude's short assurances were never as comforting as I hoped. They were more like an automated positive response to my skeptic comments than anything else, dismissive and not at all heartfelt. He probably meant well, but I just wasn't feeling it.

"Right, lets go already. Ya paid fer this shit, right? Fuckin chocobos…" I hopped up effortlessly into the helicopter and slid across the bench to my side of the seat, not failing to notice that the dashboard had in fact been cleaned up.

"Kid said it was on them for saving him from the Elfadunks." Rude explained, dropping the barrier between the front and the back of the craft so we could keep an eye on Vincent. He sat on the floor to one side, half his face hidden inside his cloak, staring distantly at the opposite wall. He was still and silent, so much so that he could have been dead and I wouldn't have noticed; I frowned and turned away.

The blades whirred into life; dust on the ground lifted and swirled around the chopper as we lifted off in a silent dance to the roaring of the engine. I loved every second of it.

"Time?" I asked, propelling us forward towards the oncoming mountain range.

"Quarter to twelve." Rude replied with a glance at his watch.

"Fuck, really?" I sighed, tapping my fingers on the armrest. "We're gonna be so late…"

"I know we are." Rude frowned, glancing at his watch once more like he was checking it was working properly. Looking at my friend sceptically, I quirked an eyebrow. He must have seriously agreed with me to drop his positive outlook… "If you tell Rufus about your arm…" He continued, mumbling more to himself than to me. "Put on the headlights."

"Not yet. At the mountains."

"Still worried… ?"

"About being tailed? Yeah, jus a little. No one goes around summoning beasts fer fun. Something's going down, buddy. Maybe cause of…" I trailed off, motioning to the man sitting behind us with a flick of my head.

"You think…"

"I dunno, man. I know ya know more bout this than I do and yer not telling me… don' care though, jus taking precautions is all."

My partner nodded, turning his attention back out the window. We fell into silence; it was as comfortable as ever but I still felt uneasy. The memory of the pain in my arm, the hyperactive materia in my blood and the neglected tightness between my legs were not a good combination. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, crossing one of my legs over the other and operating the pedals with one foot. An un-containable frown broke across my face - on top of all this, the night's events had really left me confused. No one had attempted anything against Shinra in a couple of months now and as much as I wished I could just put it down to a couple of insurgents trying to finish us off, I hadn't seen anyone summon beasts like that since we'd fought Kadaj's gang. Disregarding everything else, I forced the chopper forwards as fast as I could, suddenly finding myself a whole lot more worried that the President was alone at the lodge.

We hit a storm and the journey took a whole lot longer than I'd have liked. None of us spoke a word to each other, besides Rude warning me to slow down in the midst of heavy rain and me asking the time every twenty minutes or so. Whatever it was Vincent was thinking about, he didn't care to share and I was fine with that; I had enough on my mind as it was. I didn't know what was going on in that shaven head of Rude's either; as close as we were, I never did know what he was thinking, or if he was thinking at all – he was always as silent as this, seemingly lost in his own mind but as alert as a predator the second he needed to be, not to mention terrifyingly intelligent.

"Time?" I asked again as we dropped out of the clouds and towards Healin lodge which was just in sight in the distance.

"One."

"Fuck it." I groaned, swinging the helicopter to one side and spiralling down towards the lodge.

We landed further down the chalk cliff; the Sanatorium had been larger than the actual building we were accommodating but we'd converted the lower part of the site into storage. Our vehicles were parked there, and there was enough of an open space to keep the chopper out of sight where it was safe. The second level of the building was set up to be a makeshift office space, but only Rufus and Tseng ever really used it. I can't stress enough that I stayed the hell out of that part of Turk business. To put it simply, I just wasn't the brains of the operation.

Touchdown wasn't quite as seamless as usual because I was in a hurry. I liked to actively stave off my worries and sitting still for an hour hadn't exactly eased my mind, although my worries had eased off my arousal and I was grateful for that. Nothing could possibly be more inappropriate when we were about to get our heads bitten off by our boss. The spinning blades slowed to a stop as I turned off the engine and I tugged the keys out, not wasting any more time as I tossed them to Rude and slid out the side of the chopper. I threw open the sliding door and leant inside, beckoning Vincent out with one hand.

"Come the hell on or we're in deep shit."

Red eyes flickered to the side and regarded me coldly but he followed without a word. Rude locked the chopper as I took off towards the lodge.

"Why the hurry?" Vincent asked, keeping pace with me as we passed the bridge.

I shrugged my shoulders, brushing my hair away from my eyes to look at him as I started to walk a little faster. "The President is alone in the lodge and…"

"Alone?"

"Yeah, ya know, _no one else is there_? That's usually what someone means when they say 'alone', Valentine." I rolled my eyes, bringing them to rest on the lodge again as we grew closer.

"Clearly, but I… what?" He questioned as I stopped in my tracks. Rude strolled up behind us, waiting too for me to explain myself.

"The lights are off in the lodge." I said slowly, still staring at the offending building.

"What?" Vincent asked again, giving me a sceptic look. I glanced round at Rude, gritting my teeth, and then back at Vincent.

"The lights are off in the lodge! Why the hell are the lights off?" I yelled at him, taking off again at a run up the stony path before he could say anything else. Rude must have caught on, because I heard the stones crunching behind me as he followed. I didn't stop to explain myself again, slamming the door open and stepping into the darkness inside.

My logic was simple – if Rufus was waiting for us to return, he would have left the lights on so we could see the lodge from the helicopter. Somebody very skilled had launched an attack on us when we'd gotten off the ferry. Clearly, somebody had something against us and Rufus was in danger. The lights were off…

I stopped the swinging door with my hand before it hit the wall and silenced it. With the other hand, I waved behind me in case the other two were still following, signalling for them to shut the hell up for one second. As much as I wanted to call Rufus' name and be done with it, we couldn't risk making noise in case someone was planning an ambush.

Slowly, my footsteps completely silent, I stepped into the moonlit room and listened for movement other than my own. Being a skinny little rat, I was damn good at moving around like a ghost. It was something only Tseng and me had mastered, Rude being little too heavy to be silent and Elena a little too enthusiastic. I heard nothing, and as my eyes darted all over the room, I saw nothing either. I glanced back over my shoulder, out through the open door and beckoned Rude, who was saying something to Vincent in a hushed voice, with a flick of my head. Vincent looked at him stiffly for a moment, before nodding and walking towards me. Rude made no move to follow him and without a further second's thought I understood what he had done – although I wasn't entirely sure if I was happy with him leaving the responsibility of helping me down to our guest.

Vincent approached me just as silently as I had moved. He didn't walk so much as glide across the wooden floor, red eyes glinting in the moonlight that poured in through the window at the other end of the room. I resisted the urge to glare at him as he stepped up to me, jealous that he shared my talent for stealth. If Rufus really did plan on making this man a Turk again, I hated the idea that I had more competition. Seriously, he was so quiet you'd think he wasn't even breathing.

"Your partner has enlisted my help on this." He murmured, leaning up to my ear so I could hear him properly.

I really wished he hadn't. His breath tickled my ear and I shivered slightly at the feeling, the mako in my blood rushing to my head again in a second onslaught as I did so. I sucked in a sharp breath, turning to glower at him only to get caught in his crimson eyes. _Gaia_, I wished he hadn't.

I found myself noticing for the first time how feminine the man was. His figure was slight like my own, his dark hair long and thick, falling around his face and framing it like a painting. His red eyes were wider than his heritage would credit for, his eyelashes thick and dark too, almost making him look like he had them lined with something.

None of that mattered right now. Despite his appearance, Vincent was as much of a man as myself, and technically as much of a cold-blooded killer too; the coldness of those eyes told me so. There were more important things to think about than comparing Vincent to a woman, such as saving the Presidents life, anyway. Somewhere in the back of my overheated mind, I knew Rude was still watching us from the open doorway and so, wondering how many seconds I'd been staring and if anyone had realized I was yet, I averted my eyes and gritted my teeth. Because I wasn't getting aroused by a man. Not by this man, or any other. I wasn't. I was a _professional_ with a job to do, not an oversexed animal and absolutely not a _faggot_. Hadn't I had a conversation with Tseng about this last time I'd seen him? I wasn't gay. It was just the mako. Damn fucking _materia_.

"I realize that." I hissed, under my breath, confirming both what he'd told me, and my own thoughts. I turned away from him, not taking any chances about how good his eyesight was in the dark because I knew whatever I assumed about the man was probably an understatement and there was an embarrassing bulge between my legs I was trying to keep hidden.

"Right…" I heard him mutter as I stalked towards the next door.

We crept forward, not a sound passing between us save the tiniest squeak from the hinges of the door as I pulled it open. The hallway was darker than the entrance hall because there was only one tiny window at the end of it. One strong beam of moonlight illuminated the floorboards, but not enough to see into the dark corners of the corridor. Vincent stayed close enough behind me for me to feel him there and I really can't say I appreciated it at this point. I let out a quiet, shaky, irritated sigh and closed my eyes. And then, I lost my footing.

I can't say what I tripped over, but when I opened my eyes, I was heading face first towards the wooden floorboards, cursing said unknown object under my breath, flailing my arms and waiting for the inevitable face-smash into the floor.

It never came; a strong arm wrapped around my stomach, clawed metal fingers digging into my taut flesh as Vincent hauled me upright again and flat against his chest.

As soon as I realized what the hell had just happened, I freaked out. I suppose yelling was not the best idea with the given situation but being pressed against said girly-boy's body was the last thing I needed in this state of mind, not to mention the fact I'm sure he could have righted me without holding me against him. "The hell do ya think-" A leather-covered hand closed over my mouth, silencing me. I struggled against it, mumbling the rest of my readied curse words into Vincent's palm, until he released my stomach and pointed ahead of me with one glinting gilded finger.

I shut up when I realized what he was pointing at; a dull, orange light was illuminating the bottom of one of the doorframes; the lounge, I realized, as Vincent let me go altogether. I glanced at him quickly, scolding him again in my head for grabbing me like that, and continued down the hall. I pressed up against the wall and out of the moonlight, sliding along the skirting towards the door so I wouldn't cast any shadows; Vincent followed my lead.

A low growl came from inside the room, and the sound of something shattering. I almost jumped in my skin when I heard low voices; I couldn't make out what they were saying but I was sure I didn't recognize them. I prayed to the gods that I hadn't drawn any attention to us when I'd shouted, cursing silently for losing my self-control so damn quickly. I could handle the mako; I had done it before. I was letting it get to me… I was being an idiot.

"Suck it up, Reno..." I mumbled to myself, hand running silently over the door handle and the other drawing one of my pistols from my jacket.

With one final glance at Vincent, I turned the handle as slowly as I could and pushed the door open silently, pistol raised and ready to take down any motherfuckers who got in between me and my boss. I stepped into the room, swinging round towards the sound of the voices and found…

…The radio buzzing quietly. Rufus was lying on the sofa, a newspaper over his face and a couple of candles lit on the coffee table. Un-fucking-believable. I breathed out a shaky sigh of relief and lowered my weapon, giving the room a short once over with my trained eyes to make sure we really were alone.

Once I was certain, I hurried over to Rufus' side and lifted the paper. He groaned and mumbled something, turning his head to the side, and frowning in his sleep.

"Well?" Vincent asked, stepping up beside me.

"He's jus… sleepin'." I said, sounding more disappointed than relieved, but truthfully that was just the frustration showing through; frustration at everything – the long days travelling, the long fight, getting injured, being late, being worried out of my skull… being horny as high hell.

"And the lights?"

"No fuckin clue, do I, Valentine?" I snapped. "Go get the big guy from outside. I'm gonna wake him up and it's probably not gonna be pretty."

"I understand. Shall I leave you my Restore materia?" Vincent smirked. I tensed up at the question, 99 positive it was supposed to be a joke but not finding it funny in the slightest. If Vincent had caught on to the fucked up position he'd put me in when he cast Cure, I wasn't happy about it. I wondered silently if that was why he'd grabbed me like that in the corridor.

"Fuck off!" I snapped, veering round and glaring daggers at him. I had to assume that he hadn't a clue about my predicament though, because he looked so surprised at my retort.

"Alright, cool it." He said, the tiniest hint of emotion in his voice as he turned and left the room. I stared at the spot he'd just been standing in for quite some time, shocked myself at the tone of his voice. I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised, but at least I could add 'defensive' to the list of Vincent's emotions. So far, I'd seen angry and amused, and of course his most prominent tone, emotionless.

Why was I even making a list?

I turned my attention back to Rufus, who was breathing softly, letting off soft whines in his sleep. He looked far too innocent this way, I decided, brushing the unruly locks of hair from his eyes. I wasn't mothering him… it was just a nice gesture, I told myself. Hell, Tseng might play Papa but I sure as hell wasn't stepping up to play mom to the man. I doubt he'd want me to anyway; from what I knew, Rufus thought quite highly of his mother already, although he'd never known her properly. Regretfully, I patted his shoulder and shook him awake.

"Nnggh…" He mumbled, blinking his eyes.

"Hey… Sir…" I said quietly, shaking him a little more and wishing Tseng was here; he usually did this when Rufus wore himself out. I looked around the room uneasily as I shook him, not pleased about having to do this. "Boss, wake up…"

"Nnggh, go 'way Tsenggg…" he told me sleepily. I looked down at him again sceptically, and then stepped back in surprise. He was staring right at me.

"I'm not... I'm Reno sir, heh." I chuckled anxiously, as he continued to stare. "Ya know, obnoxious redhead? Come on, ya can't sleep on the couch…"

"Not now Tseng… I can't…"

"Sir?" I asked, realizing now that he wasn't staring at me, he was staring past me. Or through me, or something. I dumbly checked over my shoulder to make sure a certain Wutain superior of mine wasn't actually standing behind me; not seeing him anywhere, I turned back to the president, dreading to meet those distant eyes again. I didn't have to; his eyes were squeezed shut, his jaw open in a silent scream. "Rufus!"

Fuck, I thought, fuck; I knew he couldn't be left alone. Whatever it was that made him weak these days, he definitely couldn't cope with it by himself. I've said it before, but I really do mean it – the man couldn't function without someone telling him how. It was pretty ironic that a man who had once ruled half the world couldn't survive a couple of days looking after himself, but that's the way it was. I had no idea what was happening; he could just be having a really bad dream but I wasn't going to risk it… If Tseng had been here, he'd know what to do.

Tseng.

Now there was an idea.

I pulled out the PHS without hesitation, punching in the speed dial for the Wutain. He was on an assignment and I was probably about to scare him shitless when I told him what was going on but I was hardly going to leave the President lying here, thrashing on the couch.

"Hello?"

"It's Reno, sir. Ya got a minute? Somethin's up with the boss. I don' know what ta…"

"Something's wrong with Rufus?" He asked, cutting me off, unable to mask the dread in his voice for once. "Reno, tell me exactly what's happening."

"He was sleeping on the couch when we got back, but I tried ta wake him up and he jus… he starting talking like he was talking ta you and his eyes are all glazed over and fuck… I dunno what ta do…"

"When you got back?" Tseng questioned, sounding as frustrated as he did worried. "When did you… ?"

"Like twenty minutes ago."

"_Twenty minutes_?"

"Yes sir." I muttered, unsure why he sounded so angry about that. "Only jus found Rufus… all the lights are off in the lodge so we thought…"

"The lights?" He stressed. I could picture him standing there with his cell, tutting and rubbing his forehead. It was a pretty funny image in my head but somehow, I just didn't have it in me to laugh right now. I kept my eyes on Rufus as I spoke, smoothing down his hair with my hand again. I don't know why I did it; maybe to comfort him. Whatever was happening, I could tell he wasn't in a very happy state of mind right now. "Never mind. What took you so long?"

"What?"

"Rufus sent us away three days ago, telling us you had Valentine and were on your way back."

"Bullshit." I groaned, frowning at the sleeping man. "Musta lied through his teeth, dotman. We got Valentine in Wutai, but only yesterday."

"Reno, don't call me that." Tseng growled. I snickered quietly, but I still didn't find myself as amused as usual. "What's happening now?"

"He's still the same. Not talkin anymore, though. Thrashing his head around and stuff…" I tried to keep my tone bored and emotionless. I really did try. Unlike Vincent, and Tseng most days, I was terrible at hiding my emotions and I could tell Tseng wasn't fooled by my attempts.

"Right. Are the others with you?"

"No. I sent Valentine out ta get Rude; he's outside somewhere. No idea where they are or anythin'." I sighed, wondering for the first time what was taking them so long. Rude must have wandered off somewhere, maybe to check the bushes or something. Either that, or Vincent had made a run for it but somehow I didn't see it happening.

"Okay." Tseng sighed.

"Tseng, what are you doing on your damn cell phone? Get over here! I need help!"

That was Elena; I could hear her in the background, followed by several gunshots.

"Where the hell are ya?" I questioned, suddenly as concerned for my comrades safety as I was for the president when a massive roar sounded over the phone.

"Later." Tseng growled, and I heard him fire his gun, the sound much closer to the cell speaker this time. "Balance the phone on your shoulder or something, Reno. You need to carry the President to his room… you can find his pills in his dresser. Whatever you do, don't use materia or a potion or…"

"Ya dealt with this before?"

"A couple of times. Hurry, Reno! It'll get worse." He warned, before yelling, "Elena, hang on! Hold it off for a few more minutes, I'm coming!"

I really wanted to know what was going on, but I knew better than to ask again. Too many times I'd heard the two of them getting in trouble over the phone, useless to help; I didn't like it. The last time with the Remnants, we thought we'd lost them forever. As much as I hated – HATED – to admit it, although I would probably never deny it either, I really, really did fucking care. Maybe I wasn't so shallow, after all.

Damn, this was not a time for introspection.

I held the PHS steady on my shoulder with my chin, draping one arm under the President's legs and another around his shoulders. I hauled him upwards, bracing myself to take his weight only to find I didn't have to.

"Fuck," I muttered in surprise.

"What?" Tseng yelled, followed by more gunshots.

"He's so… light…" I mumbled. "Okay, his room. His pills, where are they again?"

"Dresser, Reno, dresser!" He reminded me. "Third drawer down, on the right. In between his white vests."

"What kind of fuckin place ta keep pills is that?" I asked no one in particular in morbid humour, starting towards the corridor again.

"He doesn't want anyone to know-" A high-pitched scream of Tseng's name cut him off mid sentence; "Elena!" he cried out and the call crackled and died. My eyes widened in slight panic but I didn't have time to worry because suddenly Rufus' hand was around my throat.

"Get off me!" He ordered in a half-shout, his eyes open again but still staring past me distantly. I let the PHS drop to the floor as I struggled against him, trying not to drop him too as I fought the hand at my throat. Fuck, he had a strong grip for a sleeping man.

"Reno?"

"Thank _fuck_!" I yelled, the words choking out as Rufus tensed his hand tighter around my neck. A bright light lit up the corridor as I turned to face the direction of the voice; Rude was holding two powerful torches.

"What's going on?" Vincent asked, and I was almost too 'occupied' to notice the confusion in his voice. But it was there… another one for the list. Maybe this man _was_ human after all.

"Get him off me!"

"Boss!" Rude growled.

"He can't hear ya." I groaned, shifting the sleeping man in my arms and tossing my head around. "He's delirious. Will ya fuckin _help_ me?"

Vincent lurched forward, grabbing his arm and prying it from my neck. "What's going on?" He asked again, clawed hand tense around Rufus' struggling wrist.

"I don' fuckin know, okay!" I yelled, throat sore and red now. "Tseng said… pills. Uhh, pills in Rufus' dresser, third drawer down…"

"Where is Tseng?" Rude asked, his eyes fixed on the struggling President as he spoke.

"Not here." Vincent and I replied in unison. I glared at the ex-Turk briefly, before explaining, "Rufus lied ta them and sent them away somewhere three days ago… the pills! Third drawer down, on the right… come on."

Vincent let go of the President's arm and I carried on down the corridor to the stairs. Obviously I wasn't going to be able to carry the man down the stairs like this. He'd send us both flying with his stupid struggling. I shifted on my feet, lifting him over my shoulder and ignoring the fact he was now clawing at my back. Whatever the fuck was going on, both Rufus _and_ Tseng had a lot of explaining to do. As I felt the president's fingernails scrape open the skin at my waist, I decided it was finally time to start taking interest in the company business.

Even if Tseng died on this assignment (oh come on, it was hardly unlikely) I would find away to go into the Lifestream and drag his sorry ass out again so I could I do him in myself.

Once I'd reached Rufus' room, I dropped him on the bed; only then did I realize he'd broken out in a fever. Tseng wasn't kidding when he said it was going to get worse. Someone was going to need to get him out of those clothes; I cursed the fact the man wore so many layers. "Pills! Third drawer down, on the right. In between his clothes or something." I demanded, flailing a hand behind me for one of the other two to find them. Rude set the torches down atop the dresser and started searching.

"What kind of place is that to keep pills?" Vincent said gruffly, and finally I allowed myself to laugh. And boy, was I laughing. It was a morbid, grim laugh but I almost couldn't keep myself upright as I cackled to myself, finding amused tears coming to my eyes.

"What?" The man asked, a slight growl in his voice.

"That's exactly what I said!" I cackled, returning to the task at hand and unbuttoning the double-breasted jacket he had on, still snorting to myself.

As panicked as I had been, the mako from the materia hadn't stopped playing up entirely just yet. I really didn't want to be undressing someone right now, regardless of gender or the fact this was my boss. I frowned, staring at my hands on his jacket. I'd said before that Rufus was a handsome man, but I didn't want to think of him like _that_… I closed my eyes, sticking out my tongue as I fumbled blindly with the buttons.

"Got them." Rude announced, hurrying to my side with a small plastic tub of pills. I stopped what I was doing, Rufus' third vest half pushed off his shoulders, and took them from my partner.

I stared at the plastic tub, frowning deeply and cursing under my breath. The tub was dated with the days of the week, running for a fortnight. "What day is it?"

"Monday." Rude replied simply, glancing at his all-powerful watch for the millionth time that day.

"Stupid fuck hasn't taken his pills since Tseng left! Idiot! What do we do now? Do we give him three days worth?"

"I wouldn't advise it." Vincent warned, and I had to agree. The last thing he needed now was to overdose on whatever the hell he was taking. I looked down at the man in question, gripping the pills tight in my hand. Rufus had stopped thrashing now but I wasn't exactly pleased, seeing as he was instead balling up the sheets in his hands and groaning. If it had been embarrassing enough to undress the man before, it was another thing entirely to take off his clothes when he was moaning like a whore; not least in my state. He was still sweating though, so I didn't have much of a choice. I heard Rude clear his throat uncomfortably, which managed to put the smirk back on my face but didn't ease the damn throbbing between my legs. Why the hell couldn't I handle this? My body was just begging for some kind of release, anything; it was out of control… and Rufus was being about as helpful as old shoe brush right now.

"Gotta sort this out somehow…" I muttered darkly, tossing the pillbox aside for a moment and holding Rufus still with my elbows as I continued to remove his over-the-top outfit. I was referring to both situations here, although they couldn't have known. Luckily, bending over the bed was doing well to cover my embarrassing predicament, too. There was nothing I could do.

"Call Tseng." Valentine suggested as I undid the fourth fucking layer of white clothing.

"Dropped the PHS in the corridor upstairs. I will if ya go get it but there's a slim chance he'll answer…"

"Why?" Rude asked, his voice full of concern. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! He and Elena were… having some trouble, from the sounds of things."

"Use mine." Vincent offered, pulling a slim phone from his back pocket that looked remarkably like that of the man we were trying to call, only decorated with some kind of silver symbol I couldn't make out from where I was sat. I reached out and took it, frowning as my other hand still fumbled with the buttons on the President's last top layer. Gaia forbid I had to go lower after that.

"I don't know the number by heart, though." I explained, as Rufus groaned loudly and caused us all to cringe. He'd started thrashing his head again, his fists still gripping the bed sheets like he'd disappear if he let go.

"It's speed dial 4."

"What?" I asked, veering round again as I opened the last button of the shirt. I stared at Vincent in confusion, suddenly losing a little more trust for everyone I knew. Why would Vincent have Tseng on speed dial? Why would he even have the man's number?

"Speed dial 4." He repeated, staring back at me, and then past me at the president as he moaned again. "What the… hell… is that?"

"The hell?" I gaped, turning to look at the exposed man and realizing exactly what Vincent had been so shocked at. I could see every fucking artery in the man's chest, pressing against the pale, almost greying skin stretched over his bony ribs; every single one was _glowing_. His chest was bright green! "The hell?" I yelled again, reaching out to touch the weird looking veins and feeling the mako in my body leaping at the contact like an electric shock. I snapped my arm back, clicking the phone open and pressing speed dial 4 without further hesitation.

Obviously, a lot more shit was happening here than I'd ever cared to notice… and I was fucking pissed.

I didn't say another word for some time after we'd phoned Tseng. He told us to give Rufus two doses to be safe and the third if it didn't ease up in half an hour, and a sleeping pill so the man would rest; once I was sure the President was alright and his veins had stopped fucking glowing, I hung up on the fucking Wuk in the knowledge that he and Elena were alive and would be returning as soon as they possibly could. I found myself furious about everything that had just happened, stalking around the lodge and wondering what the fuck was going on with my boss. No wonder he seemed so weary all the time if he was sick as hell; it had almost looked like someone had replaced all the blood in his body with pure mako. But if that were the case, he probably would have been phenomenally strong and not falling apart… in theory. I didn't feel much like trusting my theories lately.

It didn't take long for me to work out there must have been a power cut, because I couldn't get a single light or appliance to work. The radio Rufus had been using had been battery powered; as I headed outside to turn the power back on, I wondered just how long he'd been living in darkness. The power could have gone out any time in the last three days and I'm pretty sure he was helpless to fix it seeing as he'd lit candles.

The scratches on my back didn't require a potion, which I was glad for because Shiva knows what that would have done to the hyperactive mako in my body right now. Now the ordeal of a day was over, I had decided I was just going to deal with it with myself in my bathroom and be done with it.

My room was as much of a complete state as it had been when I left it. I grinned, loving the mess. If nothing else did, at least my upside down room felt like home. I kicked some of the dirty laundry into a pile, pulling off the bloody, massacred shirt I was still wearing and throwing it down amongst them. It was ruined, but that didn't mean I was going to walk all the way over to the trash and dispose of it properly.

Each of the rooms at the lodge had an ensuite bathroom; it was feature built for privacy when the place was a Sanatorium and I was grateful we didn't have to share one; that would have made a couple of quiet evenings alone a little more embarrassing.

I didn't like to jerk off but sometimes – like today, for obvious reasons – it was just something I _had_ to do. And sometimes, it was just something to do. I didn't get out to the city as much as I used to and that meant less sex.

I needed a shower anyway. If I was going to do this anywhere, it was going to be the shower; nothing like feeling a hot jet of water running over your body as you stroke yourself to oblivion. I peeled off the rest of my clothes slowly, the fabric brushing against the bulge between my legs and making me twitch, reminding me just how desperate I was starting to feel. I tapped my fingers on the sink impatiently as I shook my pants off my feet before I stepped into the shower cubicle. I tugged the curtain closed, cursing loudly as I turned on the water and the spray was cold. Who the hell invented _cold _water anyway?

Eventually the water was warm enough to duck my head under and I groaned in bliss as I pulled out my hair tie, my long red ponytail splaying out around my shoulders and sticking to my chest and back. This was the first time I'd washed since we'd climbed Mount. Wutai, since I'd thrown up on the boat, for three battles and not forgetting since Vincent had snapped my arm in the chopper. I let my fingers wander over my body, rubbing away the grime and the blood covering my pale skin and trailing across my abdomen. My cock jumped in anticipation as my hands slid lower and lower; I let my head drop forwards against the tiles so I could gasp as I wrapped my hands around myself, without drowning in the spray.

I started pumping slowly, revelling in the shiver of pleasure that raced down my spine and almost had me thrusting against the wall. It was never ever _this_ good but these were hardly normal circumstances. I kept a hand on the tiled shower wall, steadying myself and sliding it up to the temperature dial to turn the water up as hot as it could go.

There aren't many men (or women, I suppose) who can jack off without playing something out in their head. I didn't count among the ranks of those who could either, but I was never really one for fantasies. Just another one of the main reasons why I hated to masturbate, another being that I just didn't see a good reason to self-satisfy when there were plenty of willing participants around to do the job for you. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to conjure up the image of a perfect woman; long blonde hair to her waist, shining blue eyes and lithe little curves, creamy skin, clad only in black lace – in my mind I watched her sway her hips, walking towards me where I lay sprawled out on her bed, pink little lips curled up in a seductive smile. I pumped fasted, gasping as the heat built up in my groin, threatening to spill over the edge and bring me crashing down… I could see her eyes, her long eyelashes, thick and dark… I just couldn't picture her face. Figures, since she wasn't real, but I still found myself trying. Her rosy little mouth hung open in a cry of my name as I speared her, panting and whining like a whore; suddenly her hair was shorter, her skin a little paler, her mouth a little wider, her face…

Oh fuck, _Rufus_. I felt my length twitch in my hand at the thought and I let go suddenly, my eyes shooting open. What the hell was that? What was _wrong_ with me? Fuck that man and his fever and his breathless moans. _Fuck_ him. Gaia, I wonder what it would be like to fuck him?

I smacked my head against the tiles and cried out in frustration, the water drowning out the sound as soon as it left my lips. Something was up with me today and I wasn't amused. First Vincent in the entrance hall, and now Rufus was in my fantasies. I could still blame everything on the materia, of course I could. I had no control over my body right now but that didn't make it any less disturbing.

And the fact that it _was_ disturbing didn't make my arousal any less… prominent. Cursing against the shower wall wasn't going to make _that_ go away anymore than it was going to banish the dirty thoughts from my head or help me forget that I had just pictured myself fucking my boss.

Thank fucking Gaia for _cold water_. I turned the shower down as freezing as I could and almost screamed in surprise as the icy cold spray hit my skin. The same way I could melt away my sins with hot water, I could burn away any arousal, at least for a while, with water that felt like it was two billion degrees below zero.

Shivering, I turned off the shower and stepped out, thanking the gods for warm towels too. Although not satisfied in the slightest, I was temporarily relieved and that would have to do until I sorted my head out because clearly something was hideously wrong with it right now. I draped a towel around my waist and another over my head, rubbing my hair dry as I left the steamy bathroom in search of something warm to wear.

I was just tossing all the dirty laundry on the floor onto my desk in search of a clean shirt when someone knocked on my bedroom door. I yawned a little, glancing at my watch and groaning. It was half past two in the morning. Who the hell could want something now?

Vincent, clearly; I found myself surprised as I opened the door as I'd almost forgotten he was still here in all my frustration. "Yes?" I asked curtly, brushing my wet hair out of my eyes.

"I… Are you alright?"

"What?"

"You're shaking. Are you alright?" He repeated, and I looked down at my hands. He was right; I was still shivering.

"Jus got out the shower." I explained, but he still looked skeptic. "It's… cold in here…"

"No it's not." He countered, shaking his head so more of his hair fell around his face.

"Well I'm cold. Whatever, yo. The hell ya want?" I snarled, folding my arms across my chest defiantly.

"Right… Since Shinra is temporarily incapacitated and can't tell me, I was wondering where I'm supposed to be staying."

"Good question." I told him honestly, tapping my chin slightly. I supposed it was up to me to decide right now. There was always Tseng and Elena's rooms, but I imagined it wouldn't be particularly good for my health if I were just to welcome myself into one of them when neither of the two were here, let alone giving one to Vincent. I'd actually never even been in Tseng's room; the man used it to sleep in and couldn't be found there at any other time of the day, and so I'd never had a reason to see it. As curious as I got sometimes, I wasn't one to snoop in other people's room without good reason or orders to do so.

"Take my room tonight." I sighed resignedly. There wasn't really anything else I could do and I _had_ been snappy with him earlier when I shouldn't have been. He might have put me in a messed up predicament with the materia but I wasn't cold-hearted. "I got no idea where Rufus plans on putting ya but we'll see in the morning."

"You're sure? Where will you sleep?"

"Couch?" I shrugged. "Maybe 'Laney's room."

"Alright. Thank you, Reno." Vincent nodded, and I stepped past him, waving him inside the room.

"Sorry bout the mess." I chuckled sheepishly, but he only shook his head so I started down the hallway. "Night then."

"Goodnight."

"Oh and…" I called back to him as I neared the stairs. "Thanks fer fixing my arm, Valentine."

"My pleasure." He said, voice as emotionless as ever as he closed the door to my room.

"No, _mine_." I grumbled inaudibly, snorting at my own gross humour and jogging up the stairs. I wanted to get to sleep quickly before my arousal came back with vengeance.


	6. Chapter 6

6 --

Don't you just hate those mornings where you wake up on the floor? And worst still, you can't move your legs. Someone's standing over you, namely your superior by the look of the pressed pants and shiny black shoes by your face and suddenly you very aware of the warmth in you crotch suggesting – just suggesting– that you may have had a wet dream in the night. And not knowing is what makes it all the more embarrassing?

Don't you just _hate_ that?

It took me a couple of sleepy moments to work out between rubbing my eyes and trying to sit up that my lower body was entirely constricted by the blanket I had managed to wind around my legs at some point whilst I was sleeping. Not an entirely unusual occurrence because I move around a lot in my sleep but usually easier to sort out than this; I wasn't just going to thrash around like a mad man and kick away the fleece that held me hostage when there was a strong possibility that the wetness between my legs was exactly what I thought it was and Tseng was still staring down from where he stood.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He asked, not bothering to hide the disapproval in his voice. I was, after all, topless and waging war on the evil blue blanket cocoon I'd created, not to mention that my hair was probably wavy and sticking up all over the place because I'd not thought to dry it before I fell asleep.

"Good question." I frowned, glowering at the offending brown couch I must have fallen off in the night.

"Right." Tseng sighed, as I struggled back up onto the ugly, monstrous thing and curled up again, shooting him a cocky grin from behind my hair. "I suggest you get up, we have something to discuss."

To discuss? Discuss… oh fuck, of course. I shivered slightly, sticking my tongue out in disgust at the memory of Rufus' chest the night before. It was hideous. It was hardly even human! Staring solemnly at Tseng, I nodded. I didn't need to ask when he'd gotten back because knowing him, he would have already been on his way the first time I'd called him the night before.

He left after that, leaving me to de-caterpillar in peace, although I'm sure I didn't look quite like a beautiful butterfly spreading its wings for the first time right now. It was the morning, after all. I wanted answers, but in full confidence that I would get them when we had this 'discussion' I took my time, especially once I realized I was right about the wet dream. I draped the blanket around my waist, tying it at the side and gathering my towel from the floor. I'd managed to pull on a pair of boxers last night before Vincent had come knocking at my door, but that was it; I wasn't bothered because that's all I ever sleep in but I guess I must have gotten cold in the night.

It was definitely time for another shower. I glanced up at the clock on the wall to find I'd only been asleep for a couple of hours; groaning, I rubbed my eyes again and headed back towards my bedroom.

Not forgetting the reason I'd woken up on the floor in the first place, I knocked lightly on my bedroom door. "Morning!" I called through it, but I got no reply and opened the door to find the room empty and the bed made. Hell, the place looked so much neater than I'd left it. I shrugged the blanket from my waist, deciding Vincent must be an early riser like Tseng and just as compulsive, and began the search for clean clothes once again.

Fresh boxers and pants weren't difficult to find but once again, all my clean tops, uniform or otherwise were proving elusive. You'd think it would be easy to spot something white in a room so dirty but I couldn't…which meant doing the washing today, topless. It was either that, or borrowing a shirt from someone and I didn't want to do that. I'd tried that in the past and discovered I was actually the skinniest person in the lodge and was engulfed by everyone's spare uniforms, and Elena's shirts just didn't quite cover… well, anything. I was quite happy walking around topless but having my midriff poking out all over the place was a different matter entirely.

I didn't suppose Vincent was willing to lend me anything to wear, either. Deciding my search was in vain, I gave up and slung the rest of my clothes onto the neatly made bed and headed for the bathroom.

I suppose I should have considered it might be in use, or at least knocked but I'd assumed Vincent was already up and out of there since the bed was tidy, and no one else was going to be using _my_ bathroom.

Simple mistake to make, I suppose, but that didn't ease my mind when I found myself staring at a slender, curved waist and a towel that dipped a little too low, milky skin that stretched across a taut back and toned shoulders and wet, tousled black hair all swept over one shoulder. _Gaia_. If I hadn't known that this was Vincent's back I was ogling, I'd be on that like a hawk to its prey.

I shut the door on the steamy room again as quietly as I could, eyes still wide in shock. I didn't want to see _that_. I _didn't_!

I wasn't too conceited to admit that Vincent had a nice back though. Nothing wrong with that; I did consider myself a man who could appreciate aesthetics. So the man had nice skin, and nice curves, so what? He looked like a woman from behind. One man's libido is easily mistaken.

My eyes landed on a red cape hanging off the back of my chair. How had I missed that before? It was right there in front of me, all fucking in your face and everything. Of course Valentine was still going to be in the room if that was still here.

I realized this was the first time I'd ever seen him without it on, besides the photographs from when he had been a Turk himself, but those didn't even look like him. This was probably the first and last time I would ever see him like this but at least I wasn't going to forget _that_ sight anytime soon. Not that I wanted to remember it or anything; it just struck me that not a lot of people got to see Vincent that exposed… and I do mean that in the poetic way, not just the literal… He seemed so quiet and reserved – the times I pissed him off aside - and I guess I felt somewhat privileged. Although if he'd known I'd been standing there in my underwear staring at him, I doubt I'd have taken the time to realize any of this at all because I'd probably be running for my life or pinned to a wall again.

Ignoring the little voice in my head that cried out for self-preservation, I changed into my fresh clothes without washing, tossing my sticky underwear on top of the rest of my dirty laundry, and grabbed Vincent's cape. I was gonna get that fucker back for using Cure on me yesterday and hence causing the first wet dream I'd had since I was 13.

And then I ran from the room, literally fled, in fear of Vincent coming out of the bathroom and catching me red handed. He looked like he was almost done anyway, seeing as he was already wet and in a towel. My heart was racing; I knew I might well end up dead for this but I seemed to find it hard to resist putting myself in danger every few minutes with this man. I was the kind of kid who growing up would've poked a poisonous snake over and over just to see what it would do, anyway.

"What in Shiva's name are you doing?"

I jumped out of my skin at the sound of Tseng's voice; I'd just finished stuffing the cape under the couch and prayed he hadn't seen me as I spun around where I was sitting on the wooden floor. I grinned up at him innocently as I could; "Nothing at all, sir."

"Why are you – nevermind, then. Up, _now_ - I need to talk to you."

"No shit, huh?" I groaned, getting up off the floor. "I think it's bout time someone told me what the hell is going on round here. Man, please say ya put the coffee on…"

"I did." Tseng assured me as I followed him into the kitchen. "Sit down, this is important."

I did so slowly, pouring myself a big mug of coffee and heaping in the sugar before I joined him at the table. Resting my elbows on the table and staring him down, I asked, "So what's this all about, huh?"

Tseng frowned at me, rubbing his temple. "Did you not think to get dressed this morning?" He asked sarcastically. I snorted, amused at the fact this was about as close as Tseng would ever come to making a joke.

"No clean clothes." I explained, shrugging my shoulders slightly. "Unless yer willing to lend me some again…"

"You're 25, Reno. Surely you can wash your own clothes."

"Well… yeah, but…"

"Nevermind." He scowled. "What I wanted to tell you is that Elena and I shall be escorting the president to-"

"What? Stop! First ya gotta tell me what the hell is wrong with him!" I demanded, glaring at Tseng. His frown deepened and he signed resignedly, looking down at the table.

"We're not sure, Reno."

"Then how long? How long has he been like this?"

"Since his Geostigma was healed." The Wutain man told me, his voice full of regret. I was horrified. That was… that was…

"Over a year? Yer kidding me?"

"Over a year."

"And ya got _no_ idea what it is?" I asked slightly desperately. I felt sorry for the man for having to deal with… _that_… for over a year and even worse for never realizing before.

"We have ideas, we're just not sure. As I was saying, Elena and I are escorting the president to a trusted doctor in Cosmo Canyon. He will have a brief word with Vincent but you will be-"

The rest of Tseng's orders were drowned out by a low voice bellowing my name from the staircase; I smirked, eyes darting around the room for a hiding place. There was only one person that could be, after all! "Speak of the devil," I cackled, as Vincent stomped into the room, clad in black leather up to his neck and wet hair sticking to his face, snarling like a beast.

"Where is it?" He demanded.

"Where is what?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Reno! My cloak! Where did you put it?"

"I didn't put it anywhere." I smirked, getting up from my seat slowly and preparing to run for my life. I was either going to wind up bleeding here, or laughing my head off. Perhaps both… at least I wasn't wearing a shirt to ruin.

"I _know_ you were in there, Turk, so don't give me any of your bull-"

"I haven't got it!" I yelled, sliding past him across the tiled kitchen floor and grinning to myself all the while. "Ya can't prove anythin!"

I ran across the hall into the lounge, leaping over the unsuspicious couch and making a run for the back door when I felt five cold metal claws sink into my shoulder and fling me round until I was smashed face first into the closest doorframe.

"I think it would be in your best interests to tell me where you have put it." Vincent growled close to my ear, and I could feel his piercing eyes searing into the side of my skull. His leather outfit was cold against my naked back and I writhed away from it, trying not to let him know how uncomfortable I was.

There were many ways you could respond to a statement like that. I could continue to deny all knowledge of where his cape had disappeared too. I could have admitted to taking it and told him it was under the couch, and maybe apologized, or cried to Tseng for help since he was currently leaning against the wall just inside the lounge, watching us silently and sipping his coffee. No, _my_ coffee; bastard…

It was a basic skill for all Turk's to learn how, when under interrogation and threat, to abstain from giving away any confidential information about ShinRa. As we were also given the freedom to work in any way we, individually, found effective within the code of conduct, my chosen defence was almost always the same – being totally obnoxious.

"This is a new position, huh Valentine?" I snickered. "Don't ya normally like ta face me when we do this?"

"Don't push me, Turk." He glowered, claws sinking further into my shoulder and his other hand twisting in my ponytail, yanking my head back sharply. I bit my lip harshly, ignoring the sensation having my hair pulled sent spiralling through my body. Thank Gaia my dreams seemed to have expelled the effect of the Restore materia from my body… Now, I wasn't about to just lie down flat for any whiney bastard, even if he did have my hair in a death grip and even if I, for some warped reason, liked that but as soon as I'd opened my mouth to tease him again, Tseng cut me right off.

"Vincent, I believe he has hidden it under the couch."

"Aww, not fuckin fair, Tseng!" I cried out, as Vincent's hand tightened in my hair, pulling my head back even further.

"Fetch it." He ordered to the Wutain man, not taking his piercing eyes off me once.

"Let him go, Vi-"

"Tseng… I will let him go once I have it."

Oddly, their exchange of words didn't sound as vicious as it could have been, despite the tense atmosphere. It left me wondering again why Vincent had Tseng on speed dial on his cell; I decided I'd have to ask him if he ever quit being furious with me after this little incident.

Tseng didn't argue after this, crouching by the couch where I had been just several minutes earlier and successfully retrieving the cape, brushing it off before he handed it back to Vincent.

The ex-Turk finally let go of my hair and my shoulder, although I could already feel blood dripping down my back from the wound he'd left. Despite the fact he'd almost been bargaining for my freedom moments earlier, Tseng didn't seem bothered by what he'd done as he and Vincent exchanged irritated looks for just the briefest moment before both men had let their emotionless masks fall back into place.

"As I was saying, Reno, you will be in charge around here."

"Me? Why the hell me?" I asked in surprise, rubbing my bloody hands on my pants. If I was going to do washing later, might as well wash these too. Might as well wash _everything_. "Why not Rude?"

"Well, whether you like it or not, you are still Rude's superior. He also has other business to attend to in our absence." Tseng explained. "We have no choice but to leave it up to you."

"Leave it up ta me?" I repeated, snickering slightly because it looked like I'd ended up with the easiest job here, although that's not to say I didn't have a problem with it. "Yer asking me ta babysit Mr. tall, dark and brooding here? Hell no."

Vincent scowled disapprovingly at my new nickname for him, fixing his cape back in place and watching me intensely as he stalked away towards the door.

"Not babysit, Reno…" Tseng sighed, turning to the retreating man. "Vincent, the president wishes to speak with you shortly."

"Rufus is awake? When?" I asked as Vincent looked back over his shoulder and nodded.

"Yes Reno, I am." I jerked my head around to find Rufus standing in the doorway, dressed in his usual excessive attire and looking as healthy as I'd thought he was before the previous night's events. The sunlight in the hall behind him reflected off his white clothes and illuminated him with something of a god-like glow that, any other day, I would have said suited him, but today I just couldn't help remembering him lying there helpless as a child in his feverish delirium. I didn't think I'd ever be able to look at him again. "Sir? Are ya alright?" I asked, not bothering to conceal my concern.

For the briefest moment a look of confusion crossed his face, but it was gone as quickly as it had come and he smiled confidently. "I assure you I am perfectly fine." He told me casually, turning to Vincent after he'd spoken.

As much of a surprise as it might come, Rufus Shinra, out of all of us, was the most casual man I lived with. He had an air about him that was as unceremonious most of the time as it was absolutely terrifying, and as contradictory as the two sounded, I found his casual attitude made him all the more intimidating. There was something menacing about someone you knew to be dangerous smiling warmly at you, like a predator luring in it's prey. His smiles were never entirely pleasant, almost forced but still nonchalant enough for this to go unnoticed.

"Ah, Mr. Valentine. I wish to speak to you in private, if I may."

Vincent nodded silently in reply and Rufus turned to retreat from the room again, granting us one more acknowledging half-smile before he disappeared into the bright sunlit corridor with Vincent in tow.

I thought it funny to watch one following the other, because Rufus looked like some heavenly presence stepping into the light, and Vincent, in all his dark, brooding glory, looked truly demonic and absolutely out of place. Even worse was knowing what I did about the both of them; was it not Vincent who had saved the world twice now and Rufus who had been slowly destroying it?

"So Tseng." I said, turning to him suddenly and breaking the unflattering silence that had fallen over the room since the other two had disappeared. "What do ya say we play a little Q & A? I want answers."

"Not now, Reno."

I flared up at his dismissal; I had been willing to do this politely, but I refused to just get shunned again at this point. So maybe we had never gotten along on the best terms, so maybe I'd argued with him constantly since he'd recruited me about every little thing just to annoy him – perhaps you couldn't call us friends and he didn't care about me, but as he'd pointed out I was _still_ second in command and this was not how a company worked. When the ShinRa electric power company was still exactly that, the Turks were the closest employees in the hierarchy to the President and now that those days had passed, we were even closer. There should never be secrets between Rufus and the Turks, and that meant all the Turks. That meant _me_.

"I've fuckin had enough of this!" I yelled, grabbing his arm and pulling him over to me. I could tell I startled him because he almost dropped the coffee mug he was holding and dark eyes narrowed, coming to rest on me irately. "Answer my damn questions, Tseng! Yer hiding something from me, I know it, and I don' like it."

"You will find out in due time, Reno." He told me sternly, staring me down as I gripped his elbow. We hovered above the couch, both threatening the other to sit down or just walk away. I should have forced him, with the control I had right now, to sit and talk but if there was anything I'd learned from watching Rufus work over the years it was that there was infinitely more power in the submission than in outright dominance – I wanted him to give in to me by his own will.

"Don't make me your enemy, Tseng." I told him bitterly, glaring back at him. "I make a dangerous one."

"Then don't make me yours." He countered, tugging his arm from my death grip as he spat the words out, and turning on his heel to leave without another word.

"Fer fucks sake!" I yelled after him, stamping my foot on the floorboards heavily and throwing myself down on the ugly couch. Hell of a day this was turning out to be so far.

I lay there for some time, face buried in my arms as I complained to myself, wondering when I'd lost almost everyone's respect, because evidently I had. I could tell even Rude was hiding something from me and the man was supposed to be my best fucking friend. Had I ever had it? I could remember when I'd first been hired, and it had taken me months to prove my worth. I was just the scraggly little rat they'd picked up off the streets to do the dirtiest of their dirty work, the real nauseous stuff that no one else wanted to do. They told me they'd picked me for my strength and potential but I knew deep down it was because back then I'd do anything for my next paycheck, not to mention I was absolutely disposable. I had no ties in the slums – no close friends, no family, and the sort of job where my employers wouldn't give a rat's ass if I went missing to never be seen again. A few months into my new employment, I had a job to take the damn bastards down; I took them out, one by one, with a big fucking grin on my face. I was fifteen years old.

But I had proved my worth eventually, and back then I thought I'd earned the respect of my comrades and my superiors alike. Hadn't I shot up through the ranks? Hadn't I made second in command in just 20 months? I suppose it didn't matter any more. We were all but dragging Shinra through the dirt right now; at least that's as much as I knew. I probably had it all wrong, again.

After ten minutes or so, bored of wallowing in self-pity, I got up and opened the back door, fishing around in my pockets for the cigarettes I knew weren't going to be there. I groaned, slamming the door shut again and stomping through the lodge to look for my jacket.

I realized I must have left it in the helicopter the day before when I'd been in a hurry to run up the hill, and so I soon found myself yelling and stomping around in the corridor, like a kid throwing a tantrum, when I couldn't find the keys.

"What's got into you?" Rude's strong hand landed on my shoulder, shaking me slightly until I was still and silent. I sighed, rubbing my head in my hands.

"Nothin. Need a cigarette. Can't find my keys."

He jingled the eluding object in front of my face, a typical Rude-smile on his face. A Rude-smile was not really a smile at all, just his lips lifting a little higher up his face, and I'd simply learned to recognize it so. I watched them dangle, before snatching the object from his hand with cat-like reflexes. I shot him a quick grin and darted out the front door and down the steps. Just as the door swung shut behind me, I heard Rufus call my name; I wasn't stopping for him. The president could wait, it was past nine hundred hours and I hadn't had a fucking smoke yet.

…Half way to the chopper, it did occur to me that this kinda of attitude was maybe just a little – and I'm talking tiny, tiny here – contributing factor as to why I didn't feel very respected. Oh well. I ain't changing for no one.

I finally retrieved my cigarettes from my jacket, which was stiff with the blood I'd wiped on it the day before. The cigarette I pulled out was pretty bloody too, but the morbid side of me relished in that and I lit it up anyway as I walked back towards the lodge triumphantly.

The walk back was colder than the run there, undoubtedly because I was still topless and the wind was stinging my bare skin and whipping my loose hair wildly around my face. I grappled it loosely to try and hold it down but the crafty strands escaped my hand time and time again and I ended up swatting at it blindly.

Giving up on my hair, which was pretty, much out of control now, I took a long drag of my cigarette, leaving it hanging from my lips as I looked up at the president where he stood on the deck at the top of the wooden stair case, arms folded sternly; I noted oddly that his hair didn't blow around in the wind, besides the few unruly strands in front of his face. Whatever he was putting in it to keep it like that must have been full of some strong freaking chemicals.

"Sir?" I asked as I climbed the stairs, flicking my ash over the side of the rail as I approached him. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what he had to say to me. I hadn't forgotten how late we were the night before, regardless of what had happened once we'd arrived home.

"Reno."

My name was merely a murmur on his lips and I didn't like his hushed tone. I gulped slightly as I let a weak, fleeting smile cross my face in recognition that he'd spoken – if I was in trouble with Rufus, I had to prepare myself to be in a _ton_ of it. I stopped on the step below him and took another long drag to calm my jumpy nerves, a little anxious about what he had to say. Rufus stared disapprovingly at my cigarette; he'd never liked the idea of me smoking. It may have had something to do with hating his father because the previous president had always smoked around him when he was young. "Finish that disgusting thing," He said smoothly, the subtle demand in his voice making me want to drop it and stamp it out immediately, although I kept myself from doing so because I really did need that smoke right now. "And then meet me in the kitchen."

He turned and walked away then, leaving me standing on the staircase with my cigarette resting between my lips. I couldn't imagine what he'd want to talk about with me – at least that he couldn't leave up to Tseng to inform me of. Rufus was not a particularly gregarious man, nor was he communicative and besides Tseng, none of us really interacted with him at all except when he was giving us orders. Tseng had said he was leaving me in charge of the lodge, so I couldn't see Rufus dishing out any orders right now unless he'd completely lost his mind and planned on leaving Vincent here alone.

Despite my scepticism regarding his intentions, I quickly took my last drag and stubbed out the cigarette on the handrail. I tossed it into the bushes below, which I was always surprised to find still alive despite the mountain of smashed bottles and cigarette butts that must have building up underneath them. I could probably smoke the leaves off one of them and get just as much of a nicotine rush as I did from any pack of smokes. I headed reluctantly back towards the front door, dragging my feet to make the short journey inside last as long as I could.

"Take a seat, Reno." Rufus offered as I walked into the kitchen. Keeping my eyes on him, I did so silently, eyeing the closed door as I sat down. Conversing with Rufus always made me a little wary of my safety, although he'd never tried to hurt me before. I guess it just came from years of watching him blow peoples heads right off impulsively when he got angry but I still felt my wariness was justified. "I understand that you are now aware of my condition."

His voice was a little remorseful, as if he regretted the fact I'd seen him at his weakest last night. He probably did, even if he had no control over the fact it had happened; in fact, that lack of control probably even made it worse in his mind. A man that controlled half a continent and in the minds of many, had once controlled the whole world was not allowed to be weak – he had to be god like; emotionless, courageous, powerful. I wasn't sure how he wanted me to react to what I'd seen so I just said nothing, giving him a slight nod in confirmation.

Rufus' grey eyes lingered on me for a moment, as if for once he was at a loss for words, but as he realized I'd noticed, he licked his lips and looked away. "I am not dying, Reno."

He caught me completely off-guard; I sat up a little, finally giving him my full attention. It wouldn't have been such a surprising thing to hear from the president, only that I hadn't suggested in any way that I thought so. Rufus didn't strike me as the kind of man who'd bring that up out of blue. "Never thought ya were, sir." I frowned, although I wasn't really telling the truth. It had crossed my mind once or twice since I'd seen the state he was in the night before – although I had tried to keep my mind off the whole event. I didn't need anything reminding me that I'd ended up thinking about him in the shower. If anything, I was left wondering which of us was _really_ sick here. "Ya do look pretty ill though, if ya don' mind me sayin' so…"

Rufus scoffed and shook his head. "I assure you I am fine, Reno," He told me, for the second time that day. My frown deepened and I stared down at my hands, fidgeting in my seat. The man obviously had a lot on his mind, or something. Either that, or he really was just that socially inept because this was one of the most awkward conversations I could remember having in a long time. Either was possible. He was silent again, pacing across the kitchen a little.

"We have been in Healin a long time now, haven't we?" He asked suddenly, but I found myself struggling as to how to respond again, unsure if the question was supposed to be rhetorical or not. When I stayed silent, he continued, speaking a little too fast like he was uncomfortable with what he was saying. "Years in fact. You're probably wondering if we're ever going to get out of here, but I can tell you confidently that we will, Reno. Not too much longer now."

Something clicked in my mind; I looked up at him, still frowning but I think I knew what he was getting at. "Loyalty, sir? Is that what yer concerned about?"

"Pardon?" He asked, grey eyes locking onto mine as he spoke, although he didn't sound as confused by what I'd said as he should have been if I was completely off track.

"Cause yer sick and stuff, and we've not been doing much fer ages." I explained, leaning over the table again and squirming slightly under his demanding gaze. I looked away from him, keeping my eyes on the opposite wall; I didn't like trying to explain my logic when I was being stared at. It made me feel completely stupid. "Ya don' need ta worry, I don' think any of us are gonna try and abandon ShinRa or anythin. I'm sticking around, at least."

The feel of fingers brushing back my wind swept hair almost made me leap out of my seat in surprise. I whipped my head round to look at him; I hadn't noticed him crossing the room at all, but now he was leaning against the table beside me, his left hand resting on top of my head.

"S-sir?" I asked nervously, pulling my head away slightly, only to feel his fingers tightening in my hair. I had no idea what the hell he was doing, but I was very aware of the fact he'd put me in a vulnerable position like this. It wasn't that I couldn't get myself out of this situation, and he might have been sick, but I could still picture him dragging me around the room like this. Maybe even just holding me down so he could kill me. Gaia, I wouldn't put it past him. Still, fighting back against my boss right now didn't seem like the best course of action, so I stayed put.

"Yes Reno?"

He was stroking my head again, not in a way dissimilar to how you would comfort an animal. It occurred to me that however uncomfortable I felt right now, he looked completely at ease. I'd always taken him for a man who hated physical contact, so I couldn't help but think that maybe he really was planning to kill me. He was acting pretty weird, to say the least.

The part of me that vouched for self-preservation won out over the side that wanted to ask what the hell he was doing and although he was really freaking me out, I wasn't blind as to how I could use this situation to my benefit. "Why did ya get us to bring in Valentine, sir?" I asked, quietly and nervously as I could – if he was comfortable talking to me right now, I didn't want to sacrifice that by letting my question sound too demanding.

His hand suddenly tightened a whole lot more in my hair, pulling it sharply. I gasped, sinking my teeth into my lip before I could make any more noise as a jolt of pleasure shot straight down to my groin… that just wasn't fucking fair. I prayed he didn't notice I liked having my hair pulled because that definitely didn't seem like his intention right now. I tensed both my hands around the edge of the table, gripping it so tight I swore I could have cracked it because as much as I didn't want to be in this situation, I had to keep myself from smacking him across the room right now to defend myself, or perhaps just throwing him across the table and crawling over him. More preferably not the latter; the thought itself was wrong in so many ways and such an action would be purely animalistic, because it's not like I'd want my hair pulled like that by my _boss_, for crying out loud… I was a Turk; I had to have _some _fucking self-control. Not to mention we were both men and doing anything of the sort was undeniably gross, regardless of what twisted thoughts had been running through my head the night before.

Luckily for me he just ignored my reaction, or perhaps didn't notice at all. Instead, he leaned down closer, glaring at me as he spoke. "Loyalty is a funny thing, Reno. Mr. Valentine's, especially." He said coldly, pulling my hair again. I gasped a second time, turning my head away only to have him grab my chin and turn me to face him once again. "I only wonder, why do you ask?"

"J-just curious sir…" I told him quietly, wondering how my simple question had backfired on me so fast.

"He has something I want." Rufus said slowly, staring me in the eyes a while longer before he released my chin and I turned away again. Despite how menacing he could be, this was actually the first time Rufus had turned feral on me; normally when I stepped out of line he would shout, and dock my pay, and make idle threats that some days left me wondering if he really had it in him to fire me at all, but suddenly it felt like Rufus was turning into his own father. The previous president had been more hands on with his threats – not to say I'd ever found myself gasping and writhing in _his_ grip but his punishments were always a little more venomous than hair pulling.

Someone knocked on the door, the slow creaking of it letting me know they were coming in, although my eyes were still cast to the floor, avoiding Rufus'.

"Yes Tseng?" The president asked, clearly not to me, and I found myself horribly embarrassed that he hadn't let go of his tight grip on my hair when the Wutain man had entered. I squirmed away from him, but to no avail.

Tseng hesitated to reply, probably irritated or maybe even jealous over what he was seeing. "We're ready to depart, sir."

"Very good, Tseng. I am finished here."

Rufus released my hair at last, wiping his hand on the tablecloth like it was filthy now; I was slightly offended because I had washed it the night before, after all, but I didn't say anything in fear of putting myself in any stranger a situation. I couldn't help but wonder if this was really all he'd had to say to me but I didn't question that either. If this conversation was over, I was fine with that.

"Reno, I expect you to be respectful to our guest whilst myself and the others are elsewhere." He said, pausing at the door and turning back to look at me. "I also expect you not to let him leave without you watching him carefully. Do not lose track of him. Understood?"

"Yes sir," I answered, swallowing hard as he disappeared from sight. I didn't like the sound of his voice. He was planning something I knew I wasn't going to like. Tseng remained in the room after the president had left, but he was hovering in the doorway like he was ready to leave as well.

"That's the second time today I've seen you in that position." He said with a snort of disapproval. "Anyone would think you liked it."

"Yeah well, you wanna give it a go too?" I snarled sarcastically, giving him a sharp look and flicking my middle finger up at him as he turned to leave again, but I realized I couldn't let him take the president away from the lodge without warning him about my concerns the day before.

"Tseng, wait," I called after him regretfully, and he glanced back over his shoulder, dark eyes narrowed slightly, not masking the irritation on his voice at my previous comment. "I… don't think it's a matter to concern Rufus with but…"

"But?"

"We were attacked yesterday. Seems pretty serious. Be… be careful. Somethin might be goin' down." I explained uncomfortably, shrugging my shoulders as I spoke.

"I know." He said remorsefully. "That's why Elena and I were sent out before."

He left then, and I found myself staring at the empty space where he'd been standing moments earlier for the third time that day. There's something about having the same person walk away from you time and time again that just isn't funny. Nothing today was turning out to be all that funny, though. I mused that I might have just gotten out of bed on the wrong side today, until the cold air blowing against my naked chest through the open kitchen door reminded me that I'd woken up on the floor.

I was honestly too frustrated to even think about what Tseng had just admitted to me moments earlier. Obviously, more shit was going down than I'd even begun to expect if we were being attacked in two places. I did wonder whether I was the only one who didn't know anything about this though. I was fed up with everyone around here. They were going away for a while? Good riddance. And I meant that to Rufus with his hair pulling, Tseng and his fucking temper and cryptic clues and even Elena and Rude if they were leaving me in the dark right now.

I let out an exasperated sigh and slapped my hand down on the table as if it would ease some of my anger. It didn't, so it was all I could do right now just to get up and put it to the back of my mind for the rest of the day. The first thing I had to do now was find myself a shirt and sort out my hair. Hey, maybe I'd even get to take a shower…

Yawning, I rubbed the palm of my hand across my face in an attempt to fight away the tiredness that threatened to take hold of me and force me to sleep. As a Turk I was pretty talented at staying awake for hours on end but when I didn't _need_ to be up, the task became a whole new matter entirely; right now, I didn't need to be up. Rude was awake, and I hadn't seen Vincent since he'd disappeared to talk with Rufus earlier that day so it didn't really seem like he would be causing any trouble. Anyone other than Vincent, I might have taken the fact that I hadn't seen them as a reason to think they were up to something but the strange, dark-haired man didn't seem the type.

My problem here was that it was only 22:00. Late for some perhaps but I was well accustomed to staying up long past midnight and my body's battle for sleep was being persistently cut off by my mind telling me it was too early to turn in.

I dealt another round of Solitaire. I probably could have won the last round, but my eyes were half closed and one hand was currently occupied with a glass of scotch and so I'd swept it away to start again. But I would win this time. I was good at Solitaire, normally. It was almost a natural talent.

I turned over the first card, yawning and staring down at it as I took another sip of my drink. Ace of Hearts… Ace of Hearts…

"You look a little lost."

Blinking hard to shake the sleep from my eyes, I stared up through my bangs as the card was plucked from between my fingers to find Vincent waving it in front of my face.

"Aces go at the top. Do you not know how to play Solitaire?" My eyes now wide and concentrating, I watched his gloved fingers as they slowly placed the card down face up on the top row. "See?"

All I could do was scoff. I was almost offended by what he'd done. "Of _course_ I know how ta play Solitaire!" I scowled, as he took a seat across from me in Rufus' armchair.

"It doesn't look like it from where I'm sitting."

"Then go sit somewhere else!" I snapped, turning over the next card and running my fingers through my hair as I put it in its rightful place. "I'm jus… tired…" I admitted quietly, with a long sigh.

Vincent watched me silently as I made my next few moves, shadows cast over his face by the dim overhead lights of the lounge and his own mass of hair. It seemed like his earlier anger over me stealing his cape was forgotten, which left me wondering if he was just hot-tempered like Tseng. "It was a long night. You should get some rest… you may have your room back now."

"Nah," I chuckled, taking another sip of my drink and moving the Jack of Spades onto the Queen of Diamonds. "Where did Rufus put ya anyway?"

Brushing a lock of hair away from his shadowed face, Vincent leaned forward over the coffee table again and tapped one of the cards. "Three of Clubs. You already have a red Four on the table." I smiled lazily at him and rubbed my eyes with my wrist as I slid the card out from under fingers, giving him a friendly nod in recognition of his help. I would have spotted it by myself, eventually, I'm sure. "He has offered me his quarters until he returns and can organize more efficient accommodation."

"Wow, his bed and shit? That's pretty selfless of Rufus. Must really… wanna thank ya." I said honestly, tipping my glass up and draining the last few mouthfuls. I hadn't seen anything funny in what I'd said until Vincent snorted with laughter; my eyes locked onto his and suddenly I found it as amusing as he did and burst out laughing. 'Thank him' my ass.

I'm not really sure how long we sat there, me in hysterics supporting myself on the coffee table and Vincent hiding most of his face in the neck of his cape, suppressing his own laughter but I think by the time we'd stopped, whatever it was that had been so funny in the first place was kind of lost on us. I fell back against the arm of the couch, grinning to myself.

"Tell him I appreciate this." Vincent said eventually, as I tried to regain my breath. My chest was heaving slightly and I ran my hand across my face again, still gripping my empty glass in the other as it hung limp off the side of the couch. I nodded breathlessly, still snickering slightly.

"Ya play cards?" I asked, my head flopping to one side so I could stare at him. "Wanna play a round?"

Vincent was silent for a moment, tapping his fingers against the armrest of his seat and staring distantly at the abandoned game of Solitaire on the table. He seemed to consider it for a moment, slowly looking up until we met eyes but he shook his head. "Not tonight. But thank you."

Sighing slightly, I sat upright and towered over my game again. "Alright, some other time? Maybe?" I asked, turning over a card as I looked at him expectantly. I'm not sure whether I was asking out of my own boredom or because I honestly wanted to play with him but I found myself quite hopeful that he'd agree.

He simply smiled at me – if you could call it that, because it was more of a twitch at the corners of his almost covered mouth – and pulled the card from between my fingers again. "You seem a little lost when it comes to hearts." His tone was sympathetic, but almost warm, a sound I wasn't used to hearing from him just yet. Although, that wasn't the only thing that left me questioning what he meant.

"W-what?" I asked in surprise, eyes lingering on him and my fingers closing around where the card had been. I have to say, I found his words confusing but still somewhat compelling. Whatever that meant.

"Hearts. Two of Hearts." Vincent said simply, dipping his head towards the card in his hand as he pressed it slowly onto the Ace of Hearts he'd lain down earlier and stood up. "I'm going to rest. You should sleep too, Reno… you look exhausted."

As he nodded and stepped around the coffee table, heading for the corridor I stared down at the table, stealing glances at him as he walked away, my mouth hanging open slightly in my confusion. The biggest problem in my mind was the assumption I'd made immediately after he'd spoken. I was playing cards here. I had no reason to assume he was talking about anything _but_ cards when he'd mentioned hearts but… it had just caught me off guard. I really, really needed to stop thinking so much. It was doing insane things to my mind. Started with just analysing my own life and at this rate I was going to end up examining all kinds of stupid, feminine things like my heart and gaia-forbid, my soul.

Not to mention that for some reason I chose that moment, as I was watching him walk out the door, to remember just how much of him I'd seen that morning.

"Ya gonna be okay, partner?"

Three days had passed since Rufus and Tseng had left to meet Elena in Junon to get an airship to Cosmo Canyon. I can't say I was _getting along_ with Vincent by now but I hadn't been thrown against any walls recently nor had the barrel of his gun been pressed against my throat so I'm hoping that counts as a sign that I'd made some sort of progress. We still hadn't sat down for that card game he hadn't promised me, and for that I was somewhat disappointed because three more nights of playing Solitaire until 03:00 and finishing off the remnants of my old bottles of scotch was becoming far too routine and boring once again.

Rude was about to set out on the assignment Tseng had mentioned before, and the fact he wasn't allowed to tell me anything about it only made me more concerned for his safety. As far as I'd gathered – because as silent as my big friend was, he couldn't keep _everything_ from me – he was being sent out to research the attacks we'd encountered on the east coast of the continent coming back from Wutai. As much as we needed to do so, I hadn't forgotten what we'd been up against and I wasn't entirely sure I liked the idea of my partner dealing with that alone. Not to say that I had a choice in the matter. It's just that in the nine years we'd been partnered up, we had hardly done a single assignment alone.

"Reno, I'll be fine." Rude assured me quietly, patting me on the back as he lifted a large duffel bag of supplies onto his shoulder.

"Yer sure though? This could be fuckin dangerous…"

"Correction, it will _be_ dangerous. But I'll be fine. Always get the job done because…"

"Because we're Turks. Yeah, I get it, I know, 'kay? Jus… be safe, buddy."

My partner nodded, shooting me another reassuring half-smile as he climbed into the driver's seat of the truck he'd parked up by the lodge. Earlier that morning I'd flown him into Kalm to collect it, since the truck we usually travelled in for on-continent journeys would be burning on the outskirts of Junon by now. I didn't doubt that Tseng and Rufus had chosen to destroy it once they had rendezvoused with Elena for the purpose of the President's safety – including when he was kidnapped by the Remnants, he'd only left the lodge a dozen times in the last three years – and it wasn't like the President didn't have enough money to simply buy another.

I stood watching the road long after he'd pulled away from the lodge, watching the truck winding all the way down the cliff until it was completely out of sight. Although Rude had left before sundown, slowly the sky started to go orange; you could see the road for several miles from this spot and it was a good twenty minutes before I moved again, the beer in my hand almost empty and three cigarette butts cooling at my feet.

As I wandered back up the rocky path towards the stairs leading to the deck, I lit up a fourth cigarette and drained my beer completely, throwing the bottle down into the river in the ravine. Just as I reached the bottom of the steps I spotted Vincent's looming silhouette on the Cliffside under the scaffold the building was wedged onto. I probably would have left him be but since I was still feeling pretty uneasy about Rude heading off on an assignment by himself, I decided some company was in order, regardless of whether he wanted to talk to me or not.

He was crouched on the cliff edge, running his fingers through the dusty soil that covered most of the ground. I walked up behind him, making no effort to be silent but doing so anyway entirely out of habit and flopped down into the dirt with my legs dangling over the side of the cliff. Planting my smoke between my closed lips, I grabbed the back of his cape and tugged at it to make myself known and to pull him away from the edge. "Yer standin' too close. Chalk ain't all that stable, ya know."

Red eyes fixed on me in surprise, but it was fleeting and in an instant he'd regained his stoic mask as he folded his arms.

"What?" I asked, smirking. "Surely ya heard me coming. Or are the years takin' their toll, old man?"

"I was just…" he mused quietly, staring distantly at the setting sun. "These cliffs don't look as if they're chalk. I was wondering about that."

Copying his earlier actions, I ran my hand over the rounded cliff edge and looked down at the murky substance that stained my palms. "It's from Meteor. Covered the whole damn area in fuckin' dirt. Probably not good fer us or nothin'."

This seemed to catch his interest, and he crouched again, examining my palm. "Dust from Meteor?"

"S'what I said, Valentine."

He stared for a moment longer, probably having some inner monologue or something equally as excluding that had me feeling pretty left out, before he stood once more and turned back towards the lodge. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah?" I said in surprise, looking round at him from my seat and taking a drag of my cigarette.

"I am too. Make us something."

Silent as ever he stalked off after this and I watched him go, absolutely stunned. I think he might have just tried to make a joke, or make fun of me but I wasn't sure. "Hey!" I yelled, jumping to my feet as soon as I realized I didn't have Rude to save my neck this time if Vincent decided he wanted to turn savage on me again and I don't think my back could have taken much more damage from the walls or the floor… not to mention I didn't want anymore of my hair torn out and my shoulder was _still _scabbing and was probably going to scar something awful from his freaking claw.

I still didn't regret stealing his stupid cloak though. The look on his face was well worth it.

"I never said I could cook! Maybe my cookin' will kill ya or somethin'. Did ya think about that? I can't fuckin' cook!" My argument was pretty weak, seeing as I sounded like I was bordering on desperate and well… I could cook. I had cooked, once or twice in the last few days, although I hadn't fed Vincent, I'm sure he'd noticed at least one of the times.

"Oh?" He asked in a dull, uninterested voice as I followed him up the stairs attempting to catch up with him. Although he was only a little taller than me it looked like his legs probably went on for-fucking-ever under that cape because his strides were massive.

"Yeah!"

If that didn't sound pathetic, I don't know what would. I think I heard Vincent scoffing as he pushed the main door open and stepped inside, but I followed along at his heels regardless, choosing to ignore it for the sake of my argument.

"Surely yer good at cookin though." I suggested as I paused to shut the door securely and he slowed and adjusted the gauntlet on his arm slightly. "In all yer years, ya must have learned how."

Vincent stopped, and in turn I had to stall quickly because I was still walking pretty fast to keep up with him and I was about to run right into him. "Reno." He said testily, glancing over his shoulder through the dark locks of his hair. "Please do not make fun of my age."

I was a little surprised when I heard him say this because honestly, I wasn't sure how old he was. I knew nothing about the man I was, for lack of a better way to describe it seeing as Tseng had warned me not to call the assignment 'babysitting', keeping under house arrest here. I was curious now, or at least more so than I had been and so I just had to ask. "Yer age? How old are ya then? I was jus teasing, ya know."

"I'm twenty-seven." He sighed, hesitating a moment longer before he disappeared through the next door into the corridor. I hadn't been expecting that, either. I guess it had something to do with living with the same four people for almost four years now but I found almost everything a surprise about this man, from every little thing I found out about him to the fact he was actually as much of a human as I was. Okay, maybe a little more like an emotionless statue but he wasn't so much of a monster like I'd heard.

"Twenty-seven? What? I mean, ya look it but that's jus two years older than me and I've seen pictures of ya with Veld when he was like, my age…" I rambled as I followed him all the way to the kitchen and started rummaging around in the cutlery draw for my cards without even thinking about it. I guess I'd just made a habit out of playing Solitaire now. It wasn't a very reassuring thought when it came to the self-analysis I'd been doing lately.

"Veld?" Vincent asked with a sudden interest in his voice, which he managed to shake a second later. "I was in stasis for thirty years, Reno. I was twenty-seven then and I'm still twenty-seven now." He added, opening the fridge and surveying the contents.

"I… didn't know." I said regretfully, watching him as I spread the cards out on the table and took a long drag of my cigarette, enjoying the luxury of being able to smoke inside the lodge whilst Rufus was away.

"I'm not sure all that many did." He shrugged, gathering an armful of vegetables and closing the fridge again. "Or do. I would not be surprised if Hojo had just reported me dead after he shot me down."

"Hojo? That sicko scientist?"

"The very same." Vincent told me, a slight tone of amusement in his voice as he spread out the vegetables on the counter. "…I'll cook."

Twenty minutes later and I found myself still sat at the dining table in the same place, only Vincent had joined me and he'd placed a steaming bowl of vegetables and plantain rice in front of me. As he'd prepared it, I'd questioned the fact we had plantain in our fridge but I could only assume it belonged to Tseng because the only place I'd seen the stuff around before was in Wutai.

"Traditional Wutain dish," The ex-Turk explained when I asked. "Just try it, it won't kill you."

I felt kind of bad that he'd assumed I'd meant I didn't like the look of it when I'd asked him what it was, so I dug in straight away. And wow, whilst the dish had smelt delicious to start with, the smell had nothing on the taste of it; whatever he'd done in the short amount of time he'd been leaning over the stove, he'd done it well. I groaned appreciatively and grinned up at him. "Really fuckin' good. Might make ya cook more often!"

He shook his head, but I didn't miss the twitch of a smile at the corners of his lips. "This is a one time thing, Turk." Vincent scowled, dipping his face down into his cloak as he mulled through his rice with the fork in his hand. "This is pretty much all I can cook, anyway. I used to live on boxed meals when I was a Turk, believe it or not." Sticking his fork into his food, he tugged his cloak down below his chin and undid the top strap so it hung open enough for him to eat.

"You? Boxed meals?" I laughed, stuffing another heaped forkful into my mouth appreciatively. "I bet ya can cook more than one meal. Come on, even I can cook more than that!"

"I thought you said you couldn't cook?" Vincent asked with a light chuckle, shaking his head. I found myself watching him laugh, a little amazed at the sight of it. It was certainly alien to me, especially since I could see almost his whole face as well right now. His features were actually more feminine that I'd first thought, his small lips looking plumper when he smiled like that; of course, I couldn't help but think of his lovely feminine curves when this crossed my mind and I found myself turning slightly red and looking away, grateful for the dim light.

I didn't say anything in reply, seeing as he'd figured out my little lie, and instead just stuffed my face with more of the food he'd made as he picked up his own fork and finally began to eat. He looked pretty damn pleased with himself as he chewed it, and I thought maybe, just maybe I was getting through to the man already, even though he'd seemed like the least social person in the world just a few days ago. I decided to test the water a little.

"After we eat, ya up fer that game of cards?"

"I never said I'd play." He replied in the same automated-voice he always seemed to use, and I faltered for a moment thinking I'd presumed completely the wrong thing, but I wasn't just going to give up.

"Aw come on, Valentine, lighten up a little." I chuckled, putting my fork down. "I'll clear up the leftovers or something."

Staring down into his food, although not completely as lifelessly as he might have looked some other day, he was quiet for a moment. He pushed the food around his plate again like he was considering the idea and as I watched him, I wondered whether the man every really ate at all. He was certainly skinny enough, but he just didn't seem like he needed to eat most of the time. I hadn't seen him get tired out yet. "One game then. And only if you'll answer some of my questions."

"Questions?" I asked nervously, but nodded despite myself. I wasn't sure what he'd want to ask, although I had a few ideas… and even so, I wasn't sure I could even answer any of them. Tseng had made it quite clear before he left I was just supposed to be a pawn in this game… what did I know? "Go ahead, I guess."

Vincent took a few more bites of his rice and settled his fork into the bowl, locking eyes with me as he did so. "Tell me about Veld."

"Veld?" I was surprised. Of all the things he could have asked me – about why Rufus really wanted him here, about ShinRa's plans, about anything really… I hadn't expected him to ask about our old leader.

"You mentioned him earlier. I'm interested." Vincent said simply, shrugging slightly and adjusting his gauntlet again like it agitated him.

"Ya knew him well then? He was our leader, for a few years." I explained. "But he up and left when I was a few years into my position. Shot me straight up to second in command, which was pretty neat …but he was a good guy. Went after his daughter, or something."

"Felicia, wasn't it? What do you mean he 'went after her'?"

"Hang on, hang on! I'm jus getting ta that. Yeah, I think it was Felicia. She was going by 'Elfe' or somethin when we found her though. Leader of the old Avalanche assembly."

"Felicia was in charge of Avalanche? She was only 8 months old when I first saw her. Veld was so proud…" Vincent said with a half-smile. "I remember he boasted she'd grow up to be an amazing Turk one day too. What happened?"

"Accident." I shrugged, mumbling through a mouthful of food and not really comfortable talking about it because I didn't really know the whole story. "ShinRa siege on Kalm, or somethin. He lost his wife, and thought he lost his daughter… Tseng knows more about it that I do though. Ya could ask him… the two of ya seem ta be friends, at least, or somethin."

When Vincent didn't reply for sometime, I got up to take my empty bowl to the sink and his too as he pushed it across the table to me. I wasn't as bothered that he was being quiet again as I might have been with someone else, purely because I'd managed to coax more conversation out of him than I expected anyone had in years since he'd befriended Avalanche. For some reason I felt just as happy to sit there in silence with him as I did with Rude, and that was a pretty big achievement for me. Perhaps it was for myself, to prove I wasn't so shallow and that I could put effort into something, but I did intend on making Vincent consider me as a friend, no matter how long it was going to take. At least it was something to do around here.

I turned to him, washing the dish soap off my hands as I left the washing up in a sink full of water. "Wanna play cards, then?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Kudos to anyone who gets the original game reference I used for the brand of cigarettes! Sorry this one took so long. You can see why.**

7--

Another four days passed, leaving me alone in Vincent's company for almost a week now and finding the contents of my liquor cupboard starting to dwindle. Usually I'd have restocked by now but even though I'd started to trust the guy, I still didn't feel entirely comfortable leaving him alone in the lodge. Or maybe I was just using this as an excuse not to go shopping…

Rude had told me his assignment may take a number of days because research so often did when it didn't have a set goal. Maybe he'd found a good lead and he was following it, or perhaps he hadn't found a lead at all yet. I wouldn't know, because any reporting he did would go directly to Tseng on his cell phone; I didn't expect him to call or let me check up on him every now and again like a worried parent or something but I wouldn't have _minded_ confirmation that he was alive every couple of days. I'm sure if he were in any kind of trouble, or out of contact for a day at a time, Tseng would have informed me. There really was no reason for concern; I was just acting like the best friend I am to the guy, I guess, but anyway…

Having scouted every cupboard and corner that was gathering dust in the kitchen for something to drink and coming up empty handed, I was now trudging down to the second building to continue my search there. It was a chilly afternoon, although the sky was perfectly clear and grey as ever, and I could have done with a good glass of bourbon or at least a brew. Staring off into the distance I could just make out the looming silhouette of Midgar jutting out from behind the next clump of mountains. The sky looked darker and drearier over the city even from here and as I walked I considered the fact that one of the reasons I loved the twilight so much is that the rest of the day, the sky looked as dead and lifeless as the metal ceiling that loomed over the slums when I was a kid. Living under that plate had never left me afraid of the open sky, though. I had always felt driven to live under it and not under the floating city, as if doing so was like living in a different world entirely. I suppose it was, kind of. For the child in me it was, at least.

As I came up to the back door of the lower building, I glanced back over my shoulder at the lodge further up the cliff side. I almost expected to see a flash of red as Vincent made a break for it whilst I was preoccupied but I suppose my childish worries were unjustified, seeing as the man had come with us of his own free will in the first place and seemed perfectly comfortable staying at the lodge.

Unlocking the panel door, I slid inside and fumbled with the light switch, which was almost impossible to find in the dark. As the light flickered to life one by one, I blew the cobwebs from my fingers and brushed my hands off against my pants. I know it amused my partner that I could drench myself in blood and dirt when I was on an assignment and have no problem with it but when it came to getting my hands dirty for no good reason I got grossed out and obsessive about keeping them clean. I couldn't really explain it, but I hated to touch anything grimy. Spider webs definitely counted as grimy and no matter how many times we used this storage room, it always seemed to gather more dust and house new colonies of creepy-crawlies every time I went in there.

I scoured the room for what I wanted, shifting various crates which were considerably more empty than the last time I'd been in there. We tended to buy non-perishables by the truckload simply because it meant spending less time in public but I guess no one had thought to order any for a while now because clearly we were almost out. I also tended to buy a crate load of alcohol whenever Tseng made an order but I think that was running dry too because none of the boxes I moved made the familiar clinking sound of glass on glass that I welcomed eagerly.

This room of the second building was where we stored absolutely everything. The other side of the building was our garage, where the stairs to the upper level were, which lead to our makeshift office. Needless to say that side was a lot less dusty and decrepit than this room, and I wasn't surprised when I lifted a crate only to have the bottom of it fall out, nor was I all that bothered by the fact a rat scuttled across the rotting floorboards. The quiet sound of a bottle rolling inside one of the boxes did catch my attention though and I put the crate down, taking a drag of the cigarette I'd stuffed between my teeth a few minutes into my search. Flicking out my pocketknife, I slid it under the lid of the box, easing out the loose pins that stopped it from collapsing when stacked amongst the others and let the top of the crate clatter to the floor.

I never liked the fact that everything you bought in crates was stored in a fuck load of straw. What did the delivery company think we were, chocobos? It made me feel more like a stowaway than someone hunting for alcohol when I started digging around in the fricking _hay_ for the bottle I was sure I'd just heard. I was grateful that the stuff kept the bottles from breaking but surely there were other ways to keep it safe for delivery.

We never actually had anything delivered directly to the lodge, even though many people knew we were occupying the place still. It was just an extra safety precaution, should anyone attempt to rig the truck up to explode at its destination or anything like that. That was the main use of our own transport, simply to transport supplies from Kalm or the outskirts of Midgar or even the Chocobo Ranch, depending on what we'd ordered and how suspicious Tseng perceived it to be. Bullet and weapon shipments we sometimes even picked up directly from the boat that delivered them from our wholesaler in Rocket Town.

I grinned as my hand touched something cold at the bottom of the crate, careful to bite down hard on my cigarette so I wouldn't drop it into the straw and set the whole damn place on fire. Triumphantly I pulled a bottle of cognac from the box and inspected it. I didn't usually drink cognac – I was much more partial to whiskey of any kind – and this bottle probably belonged to Rufus but I didn't see him drinking it anytime soon anyway so I'm sure he wouldn't mind or even notice if I commandeered it for the sake of my sanity. I hadn't had anything to drink the night before and I had been so bored I'd even considered climbing down the cliff face and jumping into the river below. Although, that probably wasn't the best idea ever and I'm pretty glad I didn't follow through. As much as I loved the sea and other large bodies of water, I wasn't the strongest swimmer on the planet. Growing up in the Slums had hardly given me a chance to learn and whilst I had received basic training in the ShinRa military academy, I'd been a bit of a reluctant student at the time, and though I'm sure I could swim and keep myself alive if it came to that, I didn't want to just throw myself into deep water for fun.

Frowning at the mess I'd made, I told myself I'd tidy up some other time and pushed the empty crate back towards the wall before I left the storage room and locked it up again.

I was about to start up the hill again when I looked down at the keys in my hand curiously. The office space was available to all of us, so I did have a key, even if I'd never used it personally. I'd only been in there to hang around and get on Tseng's nerves when I'd really gotten bored in the past but it wasn't lost on me that I could go rifle around in some of the paperwork and try and find answers for myself. I was bored anyway, and I really _did_ want to know. The days apart from the rest of the group had cooled my frustration a little but having listless hours to myself just_ thinking_ didn't do me much good. I didn't like to dwell on the subject anymore than I enjoyed my recent self-analysis but as much as I tried to distract myself my thoughts wouldn't let it be right now. Anyway, unless Tseng and Rufus had gone to extra lengths to keep me in the dark about what was going on, such as destroying all evidence or taking their notes with them it shouldn't have been too hard.

Deciding the worst that could happen was not finding out anything, or finding out something I wish I hadn't, neither of which would really bother me in the long run I was sure, I circled the building and let myself in the other side.

The parking garage was almost entirely empty right now save for my motorbike and Tseng's sitting in one corner – surprising as it may have been, Tseng loved motorbikes, although he'd never admit to it; instead he'd stress that he only kept it for the convenience. I had caught him down here once or twice, cleaning it and caring for it obsessively when he though everyone was asleep; I don't even know if he'd realized I was watching him work, but the whole thing humbled the man in my eyes. It's nice once in a while to reassure myself that my superiors are just as human as I am.

His was covered with a plastic sheet but mine sat there gathering dust. It was an older model than Tseng's, whose bike looked as sharp and professional as the man himself, but I didn't care. I loved my own bike almost as much as Tseng loved his; it hadn't always been mine, but it was precious to me for exactly that reason. It had once belonged to another of the Turks, Rod, who I had acted as mentor to in the few years he was with us. He was brash and hot-tempered, disobeyed most of my orders on every mission and got himself in a hell of a lot of trouble all the damn time. The two of us were a fucking good team when it came down to it, even though he probably never would have admitted it because he spent most of his time trying to pretend that he absolutely hated me. If I had just 1 gil for every time he'd called me a jerk in the six years I'd known him before he died, I'd have enough money to leave ShinRa and start up my own rivalling power company, I'm sure. I still remember how much Tseng hated when the both of us worked together, because we were so fucking loud and abusive, cursing and drinking and competing our way through every assignment. That was back when Veld had been our leader though, and Veld definitely saw the potential in the both of us because he was always pairing us up for assignments and letting us wreak havoc on the earlier ensemble of Avalanche. Bastard was always getting himself hurt and leaving all the work up to me, and he was one of those Turks that bugged me by trying to 'be number 1!' all the time but I was still a little distressed when Old Man Shinra had called for his disposal. At least I hadn't done that one myself.

When we'd picked Rod up he'd been robbing the same damn bike I owned now from the ShinRa parking garage under the tower. He'd been at the front of some biker gang and breaking in had been the last trial of his leadership. I'd fought him down there, then arrested him and after beating him into the ground a little to prove my own authority, dragged him up to the President's office and offered him a job. After Veld had run out on us, Tseng had given him the motorbike for reasons I'm not entirely sure of myself – probably had something to do with the fact he was an avid fan of the things himself – and after Rod's death, it passed on to me. I still kept it running, all these years later.

Smiling slightly at the memory, I let my eyes linger on the machine as I started up the stairs to the office. The staircase wound around all the walls of the building on one long landing, a design I'd never really understood. The door into the office was almost directly above where the stairs began and I thought this to be a ridiculous design flaw because one set of steps between the lower level and that door would have been just fine. If anything, the strange wooden landing didn't make for a speedy exit if I ever got caught snooping in the President's paperwork. I strolled down it, stubbing out my dying cigarette on the railing and pausing to open a window when I realized throwing the butt down into the garage, which was home to several cans of petrol, probably wasn't a good idea even if I was sure it was out properly. Once I'd disposed of it I searched the keys on my keyring for one that would fit into the office door.

After several failed attempts I let myself in, not surprised to find the office as neat and organized as Tseng's always had been in the ShinRa tower. There were three desks in there, although one was just acting as a countertop for a coffee machine because neither me nor Elena or Rude had ever done any work on it. Tseng's desk was stacked with folders and neatly aligned pens, which I had to resist the urge to mess up simply so no one would know that I had been in here. I pulled out his chair and sat down, pulling the first folder off the top of the pile. The front of it simply read 'ShinRa Power Company' along with a variety of dates that didn't seem immediately important. I unclipped it and flicked through the first through pages inside boredly. Most of what was inside was old reports that I still remembered having to write. It was back when we were following the remnants, and Tseng had me writing up details on locations, assignment activities, discoveries and shit like that. I really thought he'd been doing it just to be a jerk to me, because it was beyond me why he'd want to keep confidential information like that on record and I thought he'd just burned them afterwards or something equally as cruel. I was surprised to find a lot of pages of my own bored handwriting inside and flicking through the rest of the folder quickly, I found nothing of interest. Perhaps the dates were relevant after all. Inspecting them again, I found the folder must have just covered that period in time and thanked the gods that Tseng was organized enough to make this easy for me.

He'd told me Rufus had gotten sick again right after the Stigma had cleared up, so I assumed that is why this folder was on top because the rest didn't appear to be in date order. Perhaps he was searching for something I'd discovered that could help us, or might have caused the mysterious new condition the President was in. I was careful to pile the folders up again in reverse order as I scoured through them so I could put them back without a single one looking disrupted. For a while, nothing interested me. Some of the folders contained old bills for orders we had made, which after deciding was too boring to read immediately I put aside and stole a piece of paper from Tseng's drawer to note down that I should read them when I was done. Most of it was probably food orders, weapons and other essentials but perhaps I could find something out about Rufus' medication in there. I was interested to find out what they had him taking every day.

The only folder on Tseng's desk that seemed even slightly relevant mentioned several times that Rufus' condition had worsened. Nothing in the folders was really informative but I took notes of some of the dates anyway, in case I came across anything on Rufus' desk or in the bills that I wanted to cross-reference. I got up, making sure everything was at a damn right angle like it had been when I sat down, and wondering when Tseng had gotten so obsessive over his neatness. He'd always been a tidy man but this appeared to be almost compulsive. Perhaps it was… perhaps he was just stressed. Looked like he had a lot on his plate right now.

When I approached Rufus' desk, I started to feel like a naughty kid sneaking cookies from the jar before teatime or something. Not that I'd ever had a cookie jar in my home when I was a kid. I just really felt like I was trespassing and it was all I could do to tell myself that it was for the President's own good. His chair seemed a little more luxurious than Tseng's, the wood of his desk a little more expensive, and his computer a little more personal. I'd never taken it upon myself to rifle through the boss's desk before and I didn't want to start now, especially because there was nothing visible I could flick through lying loosely on the desk's surface. But I'd already come this far, so I sat down on the white leather seat and rolled myself over to the locked cupboard at one end of the area. There'd been one by Tseng's desk too, although I hadn't thought to look at that before.

I wasn't bothered by the fact I didn't have a key for either of the cupboards because a Turk has got to be able to pick locks. You could hardly call yourself a qualified assassin if you couldn't even break into a building. I don't know if it was some kind of stupid morality that I really wasn't used to or _what _but I felt really bad about breaking into my boss's confidential files.

Although that didn't stop me from taking a paperclip from Tseng's desk and getting down on my knees to pick the padlock on the cupboard. Picking locks always made me want a smoke. I was too damn impatient to sit there tapping pins and I needed something between my teeth to help me calm down. I pulled out my cigarettes knowing full well I was probably going chew them to death instead of smoking any of them. I got my penknife out again too, because this was a pretty heavy-duty padlock and I'd need it as a tension wrench. Lighting up, I bent the paper clip into a right angle and slid it into the padlock, wedging the blade of my pocketknife underneath it to press it upwards.

I was actually surprised at how easily the padlock slipped open because I'd expected a tougher defence on Rufus' private files. I put it up on the desk and sat back, sliding out a tray full of files from one of the shelves inside. The rest of the cupboard was almost empty, save for a folded white coat and a small tub of pills that was sticking out of its sleeve. As I flipped open the top folder, I wondered why he would possibly need any _more_ coats and why he had a habit of hiding his pills inside his clothes.

The first folder I grabbed caught my attention immediately – it wasn't exactly what I was looking for but that didn't mean it wasn't interesting. Anything dated in the last six months saying 'ShinRa Tower Reconstruction' on the front was something I was sure I should concern myself with.

I think the worst thing I discovered as I flicked through the thick folder was that my first presumption about the folders contents was true. There were technical layouts, photographs of scale models, bills for construction and contact details of builders and electricians, and somehow I'd missed all of this. Whilst none of it was necessarily a bad thing, and we had all been told there were to be future plans to reconstruct the fallen tower, the first thing I wondered was when exactly Rufus was planning on fucking telling me about the fact construction had evidently gone underway already, although I'm not sure I could trust him to tell me anything at all at the moment. No one even saw it fit to tell me he was sick…

I wondered just how much of this new building had been built already. Recalling my discussion with the President in the kitchen before he'd left and ignoring the parts of that situation I'd rather not remember at all. I noted that he'd said something about how long we'd been at Healin and that we'd be out of here soon. It had been some time now since I'd been to Midgar, mainly because I had no reason to do so; supplies from Midgar and Edge were picked up from the outskirts of town or supply trucks met us half way between there and Healin because a lot of citizens from Edge still hated anything to do with Shinra. It had been several months since I'd been into town to drink either because when it came to going out to a bar, it was easier to go the extra distance to Kalm than cross over the top of the mountains. Not to mention that Kalm had nicer lodging and I felt less compelled to fly home completely wasted.

I grabbed my notes and another pen off of Rufus' desk, noting down the names and numbers of the construction companies so I could keep track of what was going on if no one had told me in a couple of weeks time. There wasn't really much else I could note down, so I took a moment to actually appreciate the beauty of the new design.

It had natural defence – it was designed to be built into the side of the mountains just outside Edge, as tall as the last building but much sturdier. A massive blockade of spikes on top of the building shielded it from aerial attacks, as did a scaffold around the outer curve of the building, both of which looked like a piece of architectural genius. The full-scale model was mainly white, and steel grey in parts, which almost blended in with the colour of the mountain behind it. It was absolutely stunning, I had to give it that, and if I were to try and describe it better than that I'd say it was like an architectural representation of the President himself. Dominant, pure-looking, deadly, powerful – whoever had designed this masterpiece was obviously getting paid a lot of money. Most of the curved front was made of windows, the largest running the entire way around the top where I assumed Rufus' office was going to be. The whole building was absolutely _beautiful_. Staring at all the images of it almost made me forget how pissed off I was that I hadn't been told. Almost.

But none of this was the reason I'd broken into my boss's private files - I told myself to put the folder aside, noting down a reminder to make a trip to Midgar soon to see if construction really was in progress, and started on everything else in the cabinet. As soon as the building work was out of mind, I couldn't shake the edgy feeling I was getting, like I was about to get caught. I rifled through the folders quickly, even going as far as to glance nervously at the door every few minutes, half expecting Tseng or Rufus just to be standing there, glaring in silent fury.

I was probably sitting there for a good forty minutes; despite the fact I'd expected the President to keep the most secrets in his private workplace, it wasn't until I'd locked everything back up and started on Tseng's things once again that anything else caught my interest. There were more reports, although these were bi-annual reviews of the other Turk's performance and my own over the past two years. Perhaps in place of the reports we'd had to write at the end of every assignment previously, but there was something really strange about them; there was no criticism on any of the reviews. It seemed very unlike Tseng to only give praise to our work, regardless of how well it was carried out. I imagined he was like a bad teacher, picking out every little fault and thinking it was the only way anyone could improve. Maybe I was just really wrong about him, but it didn't sit well with me at all. I poured over the next few files anxiously, wondering if he really _had_ expected me to do something like this and had filled the cupboard with bogus information.

Or at least I did until I found something that looked exactly like what I was looking for. It was a simple brown clip folder, just like the other twenty I'd taken a look at which were filled with plans for assignments and other documents that were very routine for me, except this one had no dates on the front. Instead, it had a little note paper-clipped to the top saying '#011 stigmatalime'. If that didn't sound suspicious, I don't know what would have.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor again, I uncapped the bottle of Cognac and took a swig. I'd been doing so sporadically for the last half hour and a third of the bottle had already gone down without me realizing it. Swallowing the bitter, smooth liquid with a smack of my lips, I glanced back over my shoulder once more at the closed door, still expecting it to open suddenly, and unclipped the file.

"Stigmatalime," I mumbled to myself as I followed the page with my finger, "Permeation of the central nervous system by tainted mako."

Ugh, I didn't even want to read on. The idea itself sounded horrible, but I could still remember what Rufus looked like that night, and I was sure it was his veins pulsing green, not his nerves. Surely if it had been his nervous system his entire body would have had that odd green glow. Not to mention Tseng did say they weren't sure what was wrong with him – not that I took the Wutain's word for it but I have to say, I was curious…

"Reno."

"Nnggh…?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and watching the hazy red and black smear in them come into focus as Vincent shook my shoulder gently. My own hands rested limply on my lap on a pile of photocopies I'd taken of what I'd found in Tseng's desk, the bottle of Cognac wedged between my thigh and the arm of the chair I was sitting in. I must have fallen asleep reading it.

I'd decided to make the photocopies when I'd completely filled up the note paper I'd been writing on; it wouldn't be suspicious if a few sheets went missing from the copier because I doubt anyone would be counting, and if I kept the copies hidden in my room there would be no other trace of what I'd done. It wasn't like anyone was going to search my room for any reason. I doubted anyone at the lodge – besides Vincent because he'd had the joy of staying in there - would even touch my things with a barge pole. It didn't seem quite as grimy as the trailer I'd grown up in, but it stood a strong chance of becoming so. Or maybe it already _was_, and it was just the natural light that made it seem a whole lot happier. Whatever, I liked it that way. "…Whaddya want?"

"I need you to take me to Edge."

I yawned, smearing my hand across my face to wipe the sleep from my eyes and looked at him. That was pretty convenient – if I flew him in and dropped him off wherever he needed to be, I could swing by where the would-be construction site of the new ShinRa tower was and check it out… but I still recalled Rufus' orders to not lose track of him.

As far as I was concerned, we could trust him not to run. Over the past four days since we'd played cards, it seemed we'd become somewhat amiable. I _still_ wasn't going to get too far ahead of myself and call us friends but I could sit in silence in his company almost as comfortably as I could in Rude's now and that really was saying something because I wouldn't sit still for just anyone. However, I still couldn't say I really knew the man, nor did I know if I ever really would be able to say I could, and so for all I knew he could just be manipulating me until I regarded him trustworthy enough to let him run around on his own. Regardless of how I was feeling about my superiors or Vincent right now, it was still my job to keep him under our roof. Under order to keep a close eye on him at all times, allowing him to go into Midgar would have me tracking his every move and I wouldn't have the time to go looking for the construction site. There was a time in my life when simple logic never would have won out over my emotions but that was many years ago now and this wasn't one of these scarce times where that still happened.

I suppose, if I was Tseng, I would have taken the time to explain all of this to him so he understood properly why I had to let him down. But I wasn't Tseng. Actually, I was pretty happy not being Tseng, the stuck up bastard. Although if I were, I would have understood what I'd been reading a hell of a lot better, I suppose.

According to what the file said, Stigmatalime apparently worked similarly to a hereditary disease in that it only seemed to infect those who had the Jenova gene passed onto them directly, the same way that Geostigma had mainly affected children who had been caught in the aftermath of Meteor. This was the first flaw I found in the research – as far as I knew, Rufus had never come in contact with Jenova cells, although I could be mistaken. It would explain why he also contracted Geostigma in the past but from what I'd heard, Cloud was the only remaining person on the planet with pure Jenova cells in his body and I was certain the president had never received the SOLDIER treatments. Other recorded cases of this new disease were in ex-Soldiers who had survived Weapon's attack on both Junon and Midgar and had gone on to escape after the fall of Shinra. There were plenty of them around; most had disappeared to live in solitude; some had taken on mercenary jobs and other menial work like Strife had. Some had even been eager to restart the department once they'd heard Rufus was still alive.

Also, there was apparently no cure for Stigmatalime. Some cases had deteriorated terribly to the point where they were so weak they could no longer function on their own. From what I gathered, these people were under the care of the same doctor Tseng was taking Rufus to see in Cosmo Canyon – it was all I could do to pray that Rufus was not descending into that condition. It's a shame I'd never been much of a religious man.

However, in a few cases, the derogation had reached a plateau and whilst the illness was very prominent, it was stable. Stranger still, the disease was yet to prove fatal to any of the recipients.

The folder also included photographs and notes on the stages of Rufus' illness. It was actually hard to tell if he was getting weaker or not because when he'd first contracted the illness – if this even was what he was stricken with because plenty of evidence suggested otherwise – he had been recovering from the Geostigma and so his condition was improving at the time. Although, going by what I'd seen with my own two eyes, I'd say he was pretty damn debilitated right now. Regardless of any of this, I was pretty furious still that I'd been kept in the dark this whole past year, and although I hate to admit it, terrified of what might happen to my boss. Anyway…

"What makes ya think I will?" I replied with a playful smirk, sitting up a little straighter in my chair. Well, technically it was Rufus' armchair but since I'd already trespassed on his private belongings once that day I figured I might as well do it again.

"Reno, I need to make the trip. I suggest you agree, unless you are willing to let me out of the lodge for several days so I can walk there."

I looked down at the papers in my lap and began to shuffle them back together with one hand, straightening them up so I could go hide them somewhere. "What's so urgent that ya can't wait 'til the others get back?" I asked, glancing up slowly from what I was doing.

His pale lips pulled tight into a thin line as he stepped back slightly and folded his arms, staring right at me with those piercing red eyes I'd grown so accustomed to in the time we'd spent together. From what I'd picked up, it seemed like those eyes really could see straight through me and every time he stared, he was reading me like a book. "You're not allowed to let me leave the lodge, are you?" he said, accusingly.

He wasn't quite right but correcting him would only bring me more work and I had just woken up so I really wasn't feeling up to the task right now. Any other day, I'd be excited for the change of scenery but I'd read some pretty nasty stuff earlier and it wouldn't be completely off-track to say I was on a bit of a downer. Following him would be quite an effort and flying to Edge would mean I couldn't get blind drunk like I normally did when I was tracking someone. I didn't even have Rude with me to keep me company. So I lied… I half-expected him to see straight through it but I had been trained in the art of lying and had come out top of my class. "Bullseye," I grinned, rolling my eyes as I grabbed the papers and the bottle of Cognac and stood up.

"You can accompany me." Vincent grabbed my arm lightly as I tried to pass him, and I stopped, not turning to look at him in case those mesmerizing eyes of his convinced me to do so. Although tagging along _with_ him sounded a little more appealing, there was a flaw in his plan.

"Nice try, Valentine." I shrugged, glancing over my shoulder slightly and being careful to look straight past him, just in case. "But I don' think Rufus would be too happy bout us gettin' seen together."

"He wouldn't have to know." He offered, tugging my arm so I'd turn to face him. It was almost like he knew he could convince me if he stared me straight in the eye. I'm not saying he could, I was just worried that it was possible. I don't know if it was because I felt threatened when he did so or what but it had happened before. I probably would have cooked for him that night we played cards if he'd asked nicely enough. The tone of his voice made the statement seem quite demanding and as I stared over his shoulder, I decided it was time to reinforce my authority here.

I shook his hand off, pulling my arm away slightly more harshly than I intended to and staring at the space between his eyes determinedly. "Can't do that. Got direct orders. And no offence or anythin but ya really don' look like the kinda guy who'd go around keeping a _Turk_ fer a buddy. Don' wanna know what ya real friends would have ta say bout that!"

"You say the word Turk like it's dirty." He stated, and I stared at him blankly. The fact he'd pick that out of everything I'd just said amused me somewhat but I didn't want to let my guard down and let him know I found his curious nature so funny.

"That's cause it fuckin' is these days!" I yelled, raising my voice a little too loud and spinning on the spot to leave again before he could continue the conversation any further.

Seems Vincent had other plans because he grabbed my arm again, jerking me back this time. I thrashed round, grabbing his gilded wrist and gripping it tightly so he couldn't pull away, not that letting go seemed to be his intention right now. I finally met his eyes, a little surprised to find they weren't full of anger but instead seemed a little sad, although I didn't let it show. Whatever the hell he was sad about would have to wait, because _I_ was pissed off now, even if I had brought it on myself. It never took me long to get myself riled up anyway and usually I enjoyed a good fight. If that's what I had to turn this damn conversation into, so be it. I didn't _want_ to follow him around Edge like some little puppy, or more likely a guard dog against all the people who wanted to thank the bastard for saving their puny asses once again from the towering defences of the planets life blood. Omega Weapon was one hell of an opponent from what I saw and heard. You could actually see the damn thing from the lodge; it towered a good six or seven hundred feet into the air over the ruins of Midgar. Still, Vincent didn't seem like the kind of guy who'd appreciate all the hero worship. A lot of people, including myself, considered it one of the reasons Cloud had left Edge to live in solitude before the incident with the remnants.

"I don't think so." Vincent admitted quietly, glancing away for a second before he looked me in the eyes again. Lowering his voice and sounding very dangerous suddenly, he told me, "I need to make a delivery. It is somewhat urgent and I am a man of my word, Reno."

I scoffed, staring him down. "What's that? Don' fuckin tell me yer a delivery boy like Strife now? No fuckin kiddin…" I smirked, chuckling evilly at the thought of it. I can't think of anyone who'd want a package delivered by _him_, except perhaps _Yuffie_. He'd scare the living daylights out of someone if he turned up on their doorstep.

On second thoughts, perhaps people would want this week's world hero bringing them their mail. It'd probably be quite the thrill, but I couldn't see Vincent enjoying it. Although the dark, brooding man probably enjoyed doing things that made him feel bad or something, for all I knew. Fuckin weirdo.

"No. It is for a friend. She asked me to deliver it to her and I am not one to _deny_ my friends their simple requests, _Reno_." He told me, his voice vicious as we glared at each other, like he was trying to prove a point. I wasn't having any of it! Even if he was trying to hint we were supposed to be friends or something, he'd stepped the line the second he grabbed me.

"Well neither am I, Vincent!" I shouted, yanking his hand from my shoulder and dusting it off in disgust like the gauntlet was diseased or something, adding with a snort of laughter, "A friend? A guy like you has _friends_? I never would have guessed! What, with that attitude you can't seem to drop-"

My words trailed off as he caught my wrist in his gloved hand, making me look at him sharply. His expression was almost unreadable but I tried anyway as we stared silently at one another once again. I don't know what he possibly could have found so damn offensive about what I'd said that he couldn't even bring himself to react, because I'd assumed that if I'd done something wrong I'd find myself thrown against something or clawed to death. It's not like I even meant what I'd just said; I'm sure he was well aware of this, too. I knew he had friends; the old Avalanche assembly, for example - Cloud, Tifa, Cid… that lot. I didn't really have anything against them anymore, either. I'd even say we got along, sometimes. Back when I used to frequent Tifa's bar, I'd even sit and drink with Cloud when neither of us had anything better to do.

"What?" I snapped after a minute, the long silence starting to drive me crazy.

"That's…" He said quietly, averting his eyes to the floor but not loosening his grip at all.

"That's _what_?"

"The first time you've called me by my name." He admitted softly, the earlier menace in his voice forgotten and replaced with something sad and slightly confused.

As we stood there, frozen like a statue, and his words sank in it was my turn to be confused; surely this wasn't true. I must have called him by his name a few times. Hadn't I?

But no, I couldn't recall a single time I'd done so either. It was always nicknames, or more commonly his last name; I really had just used his name for the first time.

"Seriously?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Vincent stated simply, letting go of my wrist and offering me something of a small, sad smile from behind his cape. "You know, you're very articulate when you're angry."

With that, he stepped past me and started towards the door. What I'd said must have really gotten to him, because he'd dropped the earlier subject all of a sudden. I felt _terrible_. No, that was an understatement. The first time I'd ever called him by his name and I'd screamed it at him like some raving lunatic.

"Vincent…" I called softly; he stopped in his tracks, hanging his head slightly like he was ashamed. I don't know what I planned on saying; I'd never been big on apologies. I just wanted to say it again, to try and erase the fact I'd used it so harshly before.

When I didn't speak again, he took a few more slow steps forwards toward the door. "Wait," I said, in slight panic. For some reason it felt like I'd done something horribly wrong that I'd never be able to fix if I didn't do something right now. The only question was what to do. Vincent glanced back over his shoulder at me expectantly.

I knew, of course, what to say. It was the only thing I could offer in place of the apology I knew I should be giving but never could bring myself to say. I just didn't want to make things worse by admitting I'd lied to him a few minutes ago. The only way to get myself out of that situation was to lie again, but that should have been okay too. They were just little white lies. They'd probably never come back to bite me on the ass. "Vincent," I said again, just to assure myself I hadn't thrown away any chance of friendship with this man. I don't even know why I cared, but it seemed important at the time. Maybe because everyone else seemed to have lost their respect for me, or something. "I can still go ta Edge and do this delivery or whatever."

This caught his attention and he turned around again, taking a few steps closer and staring blankly at me. "And leave me at the lodge alone?"

There was nothing neither hopeful nor unhappy about his voice; he actually sounded a little sarcastic, something I hadn't heard from him before. I raised an eyebrow slightly but nodded anyway. "It's a bit against protocol. Ya know, in case ya run off or somethin…"

"And if I do?" This question, as so many of his seemed to be, sounded completely honest – I understood that he was probably genuinely just curious, although with anyone else I would have taken this as a sign to be suspicious that they were planning on doing so.

It shouldn't have been such a tough question, but it just felt so for me. Being with four people you had come to trust for many years and not having much else in the way of close contact with anyone except those you were to kill, or cheap chicks you wanted to sleep with for one night, opening up to anyone outside your circle was pretty tough. "I trust ya not to." I admitted slowly, looking down at the floor as I spoke. "But if ya did, I guess I'd just take the blame or something."

"I'm sure."

"Vincent," I said unsurely, stepping a little closer and staring him right in the eye. "I mean it."

The red-eyed man stared back at me silently for a moment, studying my eyes like they would tell him I was lying, or as if he was checking to see if I was intoxicated. With this thought in mind, I looked away slightly and raised the Cognac to my lips, tipping it up and taking a gulp.

Unfortunately it was the last mouthful in the bottle; the corners of my mouth twitched up in a slight smile as I looked at the bottle. It was probably a good thing I was going to Edge; I could buy myself a couple of tons of booze whilst I was out there.

As I looked back at Vincent again I found him still staring at me, although he glanced away too and sighed. "Her name is Shelke. She'll probably be at 7th Heaven helping Tifa with the bar, unless she has found her own accommodation since I last was in contact with her. Either way, Tifa should know where she is." He said, not meeting my eyes again. "Collect the package from Paragon Industries on Silence Street. To get to Paragon, you'll have to go through the black door beside the pharmacy. Pick the lock and-"

"Pick the lock?" I asked in surprise. I think I was more bothered by the fact I'd be breaking into something again that day than the fact that he'd asked me to do so but I still found it strange. I could only wonder what kind of place this was that I'd have to find my own way in rather than just ring a bell or knock.

"You're a Turk, Reno, I know you can do it. Just break in quietly, go down the first flight of stairs and tell the man at the desk that I sent you."

"And the package?"

"He will give it to you. Its contents are none of your business."

"Understood." I said with a slight smile. His explanation might have sounded a little curt, but to me it was saying only one thing… 'I trust you too.'

I don't know why, but I felt the happiest I'd felt in ages.

"Hey Vincent," I called as I powered up the chopper, after checking my motorbike was stowed securely in the second compartment. He stood a little way back, arms folded across his chest as he stared distantly into the trees. "What if this Shelke girl questions why I'm deliverin her this package and not you?"

He walked over slowly, seemingly considering the question. "Don't worry." He said with a twitch of a smile. "I shall call her when you leave and tell her you'll be bringing it."

"Yeah, but-"

"I'll say I am currently laid up and I hired you because you were the most disposable alternative."

"That's kind." I chuckled.

"I know." He said with a slight smirk. "Now get your ass to Edge before I kick it half way to the Mideel."

"Watch it, Vincent." I grinned, pausing with my hand on the door as I spoke. "I'm doin ya a favour here!"

I pulled the door shut, ushering him away with a wave of my hand so I wouldn't slice him in half when I started the blades. "Actually I consider it compensation for you stealing my cloak the other day." Vincent called though the glass, smiling up at me before he turned and walked back to where he'd been standing before.

That was the first genuine smile I'd seen from the man, ever. I was slightly dumbfounded as I pressed the switch to start the propellers. They roared into life, but I hardly noticed them as I watched him retreat. It was gone almost as fast as he was… I don't know why, but it stunned me. I wasn't too self-absorbed to admit that he had a beautiful smile. I only wish it wasn't so fleeting.

I felt like something had changed that afternoon between us, perhaps because I'd openly admitted to trusting him and he'd silently admitted the same, but suddenly it felt as if we'd stepped the line from just two people pushed together by the situation to friends. I wasn't sure how I actually felt about that, though. It had been a long time since I'd made a new friend – I know that sounds slightly pathetic, but it was true. Rude was probably the closest friend I'd ever had and the people I surrounded myself made up the rest of them, no matter how wrong we did by each other. Being a Turk and all, we never really got that many chances to make friends, and I'd not really had any as a kid either.

I didn't really mind. I _didn't_. It's just the way things were.

It wasn't until the lodge looked as tiny as a model on the ground below that I actually looked away. Luckily I'd done this take off routine so many times now that I didn't really even need to look at where I was going to know when I'd have to flip the controls before I stalled. Dragging my eyes away from the tiny cliff side, I wondered just what it was that kept me so captivated. I almost felt, I guess, like I was losing Vincent just as soon as we'd made friends. If we even had done so. The conversation should have been awkward after our surprisingly peaceful argument in the lodge, but it wasn't. It was almost as if a strange atmosphere had fallen over us like a thick cloud of smoke and now I found myself with a long flight ahead of me, and nothing to distract myself with. Except my thoughts, but I really didn't appreciate being left alone with them right now.

The flight to Edge didn't actually take that long – just over twenty minutes, due to strong tail winds that were probably going to make flying back later a bitch. I brought the chopper down a couple of miles east of the outskirts, where I knew of a rocky outcrop that would keep it as well hidden and sheltered from the elements as the trees did back at the lodge. Unloading my motorbike by myself was a little bit difficult, because Vincent had helped me lift it on at the other end and I hadn't thought to bring the wooden plank I usually used as a ramp.

I struggled to get it down, letting it bounce on its own back tire as I supported the front wheel from inside the chopper. Stupid thing was heavier than it needed to be because it was so damn old but even though I could afford a new one, I just wouldn't let go of it for aforementioned sentimental reasons.

I locked up the chopper quickly, making sure I had everything I would possibly need; hip flask, handgun, my lock pick, my EMR and a wallet full of money, plus a spare fuel canister for my motorcycle which I strapped to the back of the seat before I got on. With one final glance at my baby, I started the bike and sped away from it across the rocky landscape.

This close to Edge, all the landscape was dry and dead. A couple of miles east or north of the city would have me driving through green fields and over rolling hills but I was heading towards the dark shadow ahead of me. Years may have passed since Meteor but a dark cloud still seemed to hang above the area like a looming reminder of how close we all came to dying. It was funny, because from the city, the cloud gave off the opposite effect, like a beacon of hope as the natural light surrounding the destitute, dark area almost looked like a halo. As an outsider, because honestly that's what I was after all these years, I couldn't imagine how grim it would be to live there but still the people of Edge soldiered on, as inspiring to those who wished to give up entirely as ever.

The cracked, dry soil and the flat landscape made this leg of the journey swift and straight forward and twenty minutes later, I found myself coasting down the highway into the city. I stared off towards the mountains where the new ShinRa tower would be, deciding to carry out my errand quickly and then drive over there to check it out.

Edge had grown since I'd last been by a good seven or eight months ago. The city was expanding outwards towards the mountains and into the open plains to the north. I supposed this was Tuesti's work with his World Restoration Order. I didn't spare it all that much thought, because really I could care less for what happened to the people living here, but it was kind of interesting to see what Rufus' money was going towards.

Being the anonymous benefactor of the W.R.O had its benefits for Rufus, too. I suppose it eased his conscience slightly as he had often in the past talked about restoring the world and regretting that his fathers company had put it in the sorry state it was in. I think I could say for certain that he partially blamed himself, and that he honestly wanted to make a difference. However, keeping his donations incognito helped him uphold the fearsome façade he had created over the years and if I knew the man even a little, I'd say he was just playing his hand cautiously until the time came for him to reveal himself. I knew from experience that he could turn almost any situation around to his own advantage. Better than I could, obviously, otherwise I would never have wound up cowering slightly in his grip the week before.

I sped into the city, making my way to Midgul Edge North, where Silence Street was. I didn't pass many cars or bikes along the M6, but it was to be expected. Hardly anyone left the city they lived in, except to transport goods and visit relatives. I found it strange, that people never had the desire to travel; it was obviously a sorry state that the world was in if people were happy to be born, live and die in the same place. Whilst I'd grown up thinking I'd never get the opportunity to see the rest of the world, as soon as I'd started to do so I couldn't get enough of it. I'd never admit it to anyone but I savoured every journey I made back then, memorizing every new place I visited like it would disappear forever if I didn't. I wasn't so fervent about it anymore but I suppose that came from years of routine journeys and towns visited over and over again.

Silence Street came off the adjoining one at a strange angle. The disorganized layout of the roads here was as strange to me as their names. I don't know whether they were supposed to be inspiring or uplifting or something, but I honestly just thought they sounded stupid. 'Team Street' and 'Colour Street' were somewhat acceptable but 'Find the Way Street' was bordering on ridiculous. Coincidentally, that was the road I found myself driving down.

I took a left into Silence Street and pulled up beside the pharmacy. True to Vincent's word, an inconspicuous black door stood to the left of it, with a small label saying 'Paragon Industries' in smudged handwriting. Even though he'd told me it was none of my business, I was curious as to what kind of package I could possibly be picking up from this place. Checking around myself quickly to make sure no one was watching me, I pulled the lock pick out from my jacket pocket and got to work. I was never going to find out if I didn't go inside, at least. I only hoped the inside wasn't as furtive as the door so I could get some answers without having to look inside whatever I was delivering. Doing so would probably be part of my assignment, if that had been one in the first place. Really, I was just interested.

And with good reason too. The place looked a little too surreptitious inside. The walls were as black as the door as I made my way down the stairs, dimly lit by an orange light at the bottom, which was all I had to signify the general direction I was supposed to be going in. If you asked me, it looked more like a terrorist hideout than the headquarters of a company, but I guess no one was asking me so I kept my cool and entered the dully lit room.

Inside there was just a desk, two long black leather couches on either side and two further doors with small, reinforced windows in the middle of them, the whole room painted a steel grey. A computer sat on the desk and something was taped to the wood, as well as couple of stacked box files, but no one sat behind it. I noted a security camera in either corner above the doors, pointing at the desk and the entrance. The orange light was a naked bulb hanging from the ceiling above me. The whole damn place gave me the creeps – it reminded me of the old interrogation chambers in the ShinRa Tower, where Scarlet had almost fried Tifa to death in the electric chair on public television four years ago. I'd been in those chambers several times, four or five times as the interrogator and the others as the captive myself. Rufus' father had a habit of dealing out his punishments in there.

Cautiously I made my way over to the desk, suspicious of some kind of trap. I did trust Vincent, but there was the slim possibility this whole trip had been a set up and I was about to be attacked or taken captive. Besides, it was my job to be over cautious and distrustful of everything I encountered. I kept my hand on my mag-rod, which was slung through my belt, just in case.

I reached the desk unharmed, although I don't consider that much of an achievement because it was fourteen measly steps. I lowered my guard just a fraction, focussing on the paper taped down to the surface of the desk. It read 'Welcome to Paragon – Biotech Panacea. Please take a seat'. I glanced across the room at the two leather couches and then up at the security cameras, wondering what they meant by Biotech Panacea and whether I should follow the instruction on the paper.

After examining one of the couches, I decided it was safe to do so and sat down, staring distantly at the opposite wall, wondering exactly how I'd managed to wind up in a place like this. I should have just let Vincent come for himself.

I was only sitting there for a couple of minutes, however, until the door closest to me opened and a short man walked out through it and over to the desk. Glancing suspiciously at the cameras again and getting up, I studied the stranger carefully. When I say short, I mean he was _short_. Hell, Strife stood a whole head shorter than me and I wasn't the tallest man in the world, but this guy was at least six or seven inches shorter still. Young, too. His hair was blonde, but not blonde like Rufus and lighter even than Elena – it looked bleached and was cropped short almost to his scalp. Definitely not natural, since even in this poor light his eyes looked too dark to be any shade of blue. He was staring right back at me as I stopped by the desk and looked down at him.

"Yeah?" He asked, in a bored, deep voice that didn't suit his childlike stature. I was tempted just to ask him how old he was but that really wasn't going to get me this damn package and the sooner I got out of here the better.

"Vincent Valentine sent me." I explained, matching his bored tone and staring him down. To my surprise, he simply sniggered and stooped down below the desk. I wasn't used to people laughing in my face when I glared at them; usually my victims would cower in fear. I actually had to remind myself I wasn't here to torment this diminutive man.

"Nice 'air…'E always hadda thing fer red," came the mumbled voice from under the desk. I looked down at the wood sharply, noting the thick slum accent but ignoring it for now in favour of finding out if my ears had just deceived me.

"_Pardon?_" I asked coldly as he stood again, brushing off his knees.

"I _said_, 'ere's yer parcel..." The man snickered, pushing the tightly wrapped bundle he was holding across the desk. "Y'need ta sign fer it."

I held my tongue as he pulled a black folder out from one of the drawers in the desk and opened it, handing me a chewed up biro. I looked at him in disgust and pulled a pen of my own from the inner pocket of my jacket. I always had one on me for situations like this, along with a few other handy things and usually a full hip flask, although obviously not today because I'd run out of alcohol. "Here?"

"Yeah." The blonde answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes and tapping his nails on the desk impatiently. Keeping my eyes on him as I did so and my free hand on the package, I signed my name silently and tucked my pen away again. "That it?"

"Only one name?" He asked curiously, turning the folder round to look at it.

"Ya got a problem with that?" I snapped back at him, picking up the small package and shoving it half into one of my jacket pockets. "Don' mock tha accent," The man called after me as I turned to leave.

"Wasn't!" I yelled back over my shoulder, flicking up my middle finger behind me and jogging back up the dark staircase. I was glad to be getting out of that place. I unlatched the door and slipped out again, slamming it shut behind me before I returned to my bike that I was actually surprised to find unharmed. I'd half-expected some lackey to creep out while I was inside and slash my tires, or something. With one final glance back at the door, I put the whole strange experience out of my mind as I sped back up the street towards 7th Heaven.

Tifa's bar was somewhere I'd always been happy to leave my bike. It was well known across Edge that she was one of the heroes that had fought Sephiroth four years ago and helped put a stop to the end of the world, and so she didn't really have much in the way of enemies. Except, you know, us, but the Turks had stopped playing the role of the villain some time ago now and Tifa and I got on pretty well so I could trust her and the people that looked up to her to keep my bike from getting stolen or vandalized. I appreciated it.

When I stepped inside, it occurred to me for the first time that I had no idea who I was looking for to give this package to. Frowning as I looked around the room, I remembered Vincent saying Tifa should know and chanced taking a seat at the bar next to some rough looking teenage girl with green hair to her waist. I watched her down her drink with wide eyes before I turned my attention to the brunette behind the bar.

Tifa actually looked surprised to see me as she refilled the girl's glass. "Well, well," she said with a smile, leaning over the counter on her elbows. "It's been a while, Reno. What can I get you?"

I'd always liked Tifa – she was a tough girl, like Elena. I liked that. There was nothing worse than a girl getting all whiney and well, _girly_ on you. It happened to me a lot with girls in the past. When I found one I liked – pretty, good in bed – and decided to stick around and get a second round of fun out of them, they seemed to start getting clingy, like they wanted a relationship. I just didn't _do_ relationships. I hadn't had a proper relationship since my second year at ShinRa and that really wasn't much of one because I ran off the second she started wanting to spend more time with me. I guess you could say I have a habit of running from my problems, but doesn't everyone? It's not like I'm going to just turn around to a girl and say 'sorry, I don't like commitment' and explain my reasons. Anyway, Tifa wasn't like that. And she wasn't a brute either, like some strong women are, ready to break your neck the second you tried it on with them. Not to say I was into her or anything, because even though she was really pretty and all, I knew Rude was into her at one point and probably still was because he was the kind of guy who'd harbour his feelings for a long time and never really act on them. Even if I did like Tifa, I could never do that to a friend; plenty more fish in the sea, anyway, so it's hardly like it was an issue.

I smiled back at her, amused by her assumption that I was only there to drink. Then again, I normally was. "Jack, straight, on the rocks." I said quickly, knowing it was only a formality, unless she really had forgotten after all this time. I _always_ started with a straight bourbon when I went to a bar; it had been a habit of mine since I'd gotten my first ShinRa paycheck because it was a luxury I could never afford before hand. The price of a glass of a nice, quality bourbon like Jack was about the equivalent of a bottle of nastiest, cheapest stuff you'd pick up in the slums. Now, occasionally I liked the cheap stuff – took me back to my roots, was strong enough to hit me where it really counted, burned my throat and cleansed my soul. But given the choice, I really loved the smoothest, richest quality drink my money could buy. "I'm looking for someone." I added hesitantly.

"It wouldn't happen to be Cloud, would it?" She chuckled expectantly as she poured my drink. "Because he's not here right now."

"Spiky? Nah." I shook my head, laughing lightly as I glanced around the room again. "Where's he at?"

"I don't know." Tifa shrugged, stooping to the ice bucket below the counter. I knew where almost everything was kept in this bar – unless of course it had changed since I'd last been here – because I used to frequent it so often. "Perhaps at the church. We haven't seen anyone around much lately. Barret's busy with his oil business, Cloud's always wandering off somewhere… Vincent's been missing for a while, but that's hardly unusual." She said, making idle chatter, and I could have laughed about the last person she'd mentioned but for some ridiculous, _cruel_ reason this was the moment the image of Vincent in my bathroom in a towel chose to spring back into my mind and I'm glad she was preoccupied with the ice because I felt my cheeks heat up slightly. I didn't _blush_ because I never blushed; blushing is for girls and shit. But it was still an embarrassing memory. It's hardly like I wanted to explain the reason why what she'd said bothered me because I don't think Tifa would be the most approving person if she found out Vincent was staying with us and I'd been busy ogling him. By _accident_.

"Who're you looking for then? Perhaps I can help." Tifa offered with a smile, sliding my drink across the counter to me. "Drink is on the house, for an old friend I haven't seen in months."

"Old friend? Are ya sure?" I grinned at her, taking the glass and knocking it all back in one long gulp. Ah, got to love the sting whiskey leaves at the back of your throat. "Perhaps ya can. Uh, her names Shelke?"

Tifa was laughing softly but the sound dropped away when I mentioned Shelke, like someone had turned the volume right off. Her dark eyes hardened and she drew her lips tighter as I put the glass back down on the bar. "What does ShinRa want with-"

"Reno Sinclair," came the slow, young voice that cut her off. I turned in surprise at the name, staring at the young girl standing by my chair suspiciously. She looked up at me without blinking, a slight smile on her face and her blue eyes wide and dancing with Mako in the dim light. I'd definitely seen her somewhere before… "I've been expecting you."

"Whoa, kiddo, where'd ya get _that_ name?" I asked awkwardly, glancing apprehensively back at Tifa.

"Shelke's not as young as she looks, Reno, believe me." Tifa said with a quiet laugh, although her eyes were still defensive. I'm sure she made a damn good mom to those two kids she looked after.

"Yer Shelke, then?" I asked, eyeing the girl again, and she smiled slightly.

"Correct. Follow me, please, Reno Sinclair."

I frowned, pulling the package from my pocket. "Follow you? Can't I jus give ya this? Yer package, right? Consider it delivered… Seriously though, drop the formality…" I groaned, pushing the package into her hands. "Another drink if ya will, Tifa."

"I have to make sure it is correct." Shelke informed me softly. Her manner would have really creeped me out if her voice wasn't so gentle, but as it was, I could deal with it. I was just still wondering why in hell I recognized her. She couldn't have been older than ten… or at least, didn't look it, because Tifa had said she was older than she looked.

"Okay, okay. Jus a second so I can get myself something strong. Make it double, would you, Tifa?"

"Sure, Reno. So what's this, you've given up being a Turk?" Tifa asked as she filled my drink and took the tray the girl handed her. I hadn't even noticed Shelke was holding it until she passed it over but I could only assume she worked here now too, or something. Not that she'd have to be sixteen or anything to work here; some days when I'd dropped by it had been the little girl Tifa cared for tending the bar. I was just really curious as to how old she was and I was going to have to ask at some point.

I chuckled, taking the glass from her as I slipped off the bar stool, and flashed her an award winning smile as I followed the strange, orange-haired girl across the room. "Ya better believe it. I'm a delivery boy now too, don' ya know? Better tell Spiky he's got competition! Start me a tab again, for this!" I yelled back over my shoulder, waving the drink towards her, before joining Shelke as she slipped into one of the booths. I could hear Tifa laughing again as I sat, and decided it was a really lovely sound.

"How'd ya know my name, kiddo?" I just couldn't resist asking. No one had called me that in a long, long time. I'd dropped my last name before I'd even become a Turk, and besides my birth certificate – if I had one – there shouldn't have been any record of it at all.

Shelke, however, only smiled at me and started opening her package. "Lanky, noisy, obscene, flaming hair." She said eventually, pulling back the top of the paper easily and poking around inside. "That's what Vincent Valentine said. But you're a Turk?"

"I am, yeah." I admitted, shrugging slightly. That was a nice way to describe me… I'd have to thank the man for that later. "Why?"

"He said you were disposable." I actually laughed out loud as she said this, because it seemed Vincent had really meant it when he said he'd tell her that. She looked up at me in slight surprise. "No?"

"Perhaps ta him." I chuckled, rolling my shoulders back.

"And not to me? Funny, I always considered us more powerful a department than the Turks before the company fell apart." Shelke said casually, tipping up the open package to look inside. I eyed her suspiciously as I took a sip of my drink, because surely what she'd just said was nonsense.

"'Us'? Who is 'Us'?"

"Deepground, naturally, Reno Sinclair." She sighed, closing the package again, seemingly satisfied with its contents. "Five years ago I could have obliterated you in battle, although I'm not sure anymore. I have been degrading recently without regular Mako treatments."

"Hang on, _what_? Five years ago? Yer what, ten?" I questioned in utter confusion. Of course, it would make sense as to how I recognized her but that connection did not make up for all the faults in her suggestion.

"I am nineteen years old." She informed me, looking up slowly. "I did not realize you had forgotten. You were among the team that kidnapped me ten years ago. Of course, I was very different then." Shelke said thoughtfully, shaking the package at me and adding as an afterthought with a small smile, "To counteract the degradation. Thank you, Reno Sinclair, that is all I need."

"Huh?" I said dumbly, not taking my eyes off her as she stood up and slid out of the booth. I didn't recall anything she was talking about and the more she told me, the more confused I was getting. I was almost glad she was going before my brain overheated.

"You looked curious." She said without turning back, shaking the package a second time and disappearing through the door that lead to the apartment above the bar.

Deepground… I didn't really know much about Deepground. They'd been something of a secret organization within ShinRa, controlled mainly by that crackpot scientist Hojo. I doubt any of the executives of the old world ShinRa knew much either, because the man seemed to get a lot of free reign when it came to what he was and wasn't allowed to experiment with. And _who_. Cloud pleads the latter.

I should have been able to remember the kidnapping though; I only hoped I wasn't losing my memory because that wasn't going to ease my musings about how old I was getting. Not that twenty-five was old, because it wasn't.

I finished my drink quickly, eager to get out of there now and back out on the open road where I could let my thoughts get swept away in the cold wind. Taking my glass back to the bar, I gave Tifa a friendly wink and headed outside.

Which is where I encountered my first major problem of the night. It was dark out, and my motorbike wouldn't start. I quickly gauged that it was out of fuel, which wouldn't have been a problem if the spare canister tied to the bike wasn't currently leaking all over the parking lot and trailing back out into the road. Actually, from the looks of things, it had been dripping for a while because I could see a trail of oil running all the way up the moonlit street. Maybe it had been sabotaged outside that Paragon place… or perhaps I was just absolutely foolish. Either way, I had no fuel on me now, and the rest was back in the helicopter. Letting out a long, exasperated sigh I headed back inside. I was never going get to the construction site at this rate.

"Tifa, 'nother drink." I called across the small bar as I crossed to it again, grateful it wasn't busy tonight so I wouldn't be making a fool out of myself.

"Oh?" She asked, complying anyway, as I leant over the bar.

"This time I _am_ looking for Cloud." I chuckled as she chipped some ice into the glass. "Unless you have any spare fuel."

She shook her head, pausing before she poured my drink and smiling slightly. "Out of gas? Pretty silly of you for such a long journey, huh? I don't have any, but if you're looking for Cloud, the church is probably your best bet."

"In Sector 5?" I asked, although I was pretty certain already, seeing as it was the only church around, and also the place Cloud had spent two years of his life after Meteor, mourning that Aeris girl.

"You know that. Are you paying for this drink, or what?"

"Tab, I said! Start me a new one."

"So you're planning on becoming a regular again, Reno? I'll start a tab but you're paying it monthly this time, okay? Do you…" She asked thoughtfully, holding out the whiskey. "Want to just take the bottle?"

I grinned, taking it from her and winking again. "Thanks, pretty lady. I'll pay, I swear." I chuckled, turning for the door once again. "Ya know me too well. Well enough ta predict I'll probably be back _again_ tonight."

"If you're coming back, try and get Cloud home!" She called after me hopefully as I stepped outside.

I was surprised by how much debris had been cleared away from the old Midgar slums as I passed through them on foot; they'd never been clean but after Weapon's attack and the aftermath of Meteor, they'd been destroyed almost completely. Whatever Reeve Tuesti was planning here, it looked like it was certainly going well for him.

It took me a good half hour and half a pack of cigarettes to walk to the old Sector 5 church, even though I'd decided to run the last half-mile because honestly, walking was boring. Predictably, Cloud's bike was parked outside by the steps and I smiled to myself, sure I was going find what I needed here. I lit up a last cigarette dragging on it deeply; I wasn't a holy man but despite the fact I was slightly drunk, I still didn't think it would be right to smoke inside the church. I leant on Fenrir as I smoked, cooling off from my run. The bike was a sure fire sign he was in there because he was as protective as me about leaving the machine unattended somewhere. I only knew because I'd tried to steal it once before – not really, really steal it, I only wanted to try it out but I ended up with a big freaking sword pinning me to the nearest wall by my shirt. Yep, another shirt ruined.

Putting out my cigarette on the stone steps, I pushed the heavy door open and walked down the aisle past all the broken pews, looking down each row to make sure nothing was hiding there, Cloud or otherwise. I stopped at the big pool of water that had once been the patch of flowers I'd tread on a few years ago and smiled nostalgically. Okay, so standing on Aeris' flowers whilst attempting to kidnap her shouldn't have been the happiest memory but it made me smile all the same. Those were simpler times for ShinRa – before Sephiroth rose from his own grave and killed Rufus' father, before the world had almost ended, _more_ than once, before… before it felt like all my close companions were lying to me or getting sick.

"Reno."

Looking back over my shoulder at the sound of my name, I was surprised to find Cloud standing right behind me, having no idea which direction he'd come from or anything. I guess I'd just gotten two caught up in my thoughts just then to notice him coming – it was only _Cloud_ I was looking for, after all. The guy was dangerous to anyone who got stupid about his precious planet, but probably about as much of a threat to me as a tiny little kitten and so I was hardly on guard.

"Hey, Spiky." I smiled at him, glancing at the water again and then turning to face the blonde. He looked tired. His bright eyes were wide, and darker than I remembered them, and his hair had grown since I'd last seen him. His bangs hung right over his eyes now, the flat spikes on top of his head a little limper with the extra weight, and dirty too. It seemed unlike the man to let himself get into a state like this. It made me wonder – "How long since ya been back home?"

"Why are you here?" He asked sharply, ignoring my question as his mako blue eyes studied my face carefully, before he just turned and started walking away from me.

"Tifa sent me." I shrugged, following him. "I need fuel, and she misses ya, or somethin. Reckon ya could help me out?"

The blonde stopped and looked at me again, as I took a swig from the bottle Tifa had given me. I'd been nursing it all the time on the walk here and was, to say the least, a little tipsy. "I don't have any. Only what's in my bike."

"Aw, damn. How the hell 'm I sposed ta get home now?" I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"I can get you some in the morning. Tifa can put you up for the night."

I considered his offer for a moment, actually banking it as a possible option but it had been over a week since I was put in charge of the lodge and the others could be back any day now. If they came back and found Vincent alone, the shit really would hit the fan. "Nice of ya ta say but I really gotta get back tonight…" I frowned, tapping my chin. "Reckon ya could jus take me ta the chopper? Is jus a lil' way outta Edge."

Cloud watched me a moment longer and a smile twitched at the corners of his lips, which I found myself staring at and comparing to Vincent's. "Are you drunk, Reno?"

"Almost." I laughed, taking another swig from the bottle. I probably was, if only judging by the fact I'd been staring at his lips a moment earlier. They weren't as feminine as Vincent's, but they were still quite plump and actually a little more pink… not that I'd managed to notice the colour of Vincent's lips, at least consciously, before. "But I do gotta get back."

I was well aware that my accent was getting worse the more I drank, and Cloud seemed to find it quite amusing. Funny, I'd only ever seen him laugh or smile around me when it was just the two of us; I did wonder sometimes if it was because of me or if the guy had a complex about being around too many people. The latter seemed more likely, since we'd been sworn enemies for a while simply because, well, our first meeting pretty much threw us in the deep end there, with rocks tied to our feet. Nothing said 'best friends forever' like a degrading church and a mission to kidnap the last remaining ancient. Not to mention trying to kill him several hours later and dropping part of a city on his friends… Regardless, I liked seeing a smile on his face, if only because I knew that we'd been through just about as much shit as each other in our lives, albeit different shit. He'd spent – and judging from his slightly haggard appearance was still spending – so many years mourning and trying to forgive himself for things he hadn't even done and he deserved a little happiness everyone once in a while. It's a shame not everyone had the 'leave the past in the past' mentality that I did, because I think a lot of people would be a lot happier that way. "Alright. Pass me that bottle."

The blonde and me had been something of drinking buddies before, in the couple of months between the incident with the remnants and the Deepground upsurge, and I did as he asked, happily passing him the whiskey in favour of recalling old times – not that drinking with Cloud had ever been much of a party, but I seemed to be having a nostalgic evening so I just ran with it. He held onto the bottle, swigging it back several times as I followed him to his bike, and there he passed it back to me with something of a twisted smirk on his pale face. "From Tifa?"

"I consider it a gift." I laughed, standing by the bike as he'd fired it up. I stared up at the stars shining down through gaps in the smoggy haze above us; it was amazing to me, to be able to see stars from a street I had known so well in the slums growing up because obviously, the plate had blocked the night sky from view. If I were any more of a sap, I'd say I'd treasure this moment but I wasn't. Besides, I could see stars from all over the place now. I could travel half way round the world just to look at the stars, if I wanted to.

The engine rumbled like a distant stampede and Cloud grabbed my arm and tugged it to get me to I'd climb on, because I'd managed to get myself lost in thought again; the second time in five minutes – what a thrill. Must have been going senile already. "You want me to drive you or not?" He sighed, taking the bottle once more before he revved up. "Hang the hell on, Reno." The seat of Cloud's motorbike was one hell of a lot comfier than mine and for a brief moment I entertained the thought that maybe it really was time to upgrade my bike, but I knew deep down I never would. I sank down into the cushioned leather, enjoying the comfort whilst I could. Perhaps just giving my bike a new seat wouldn't be a terrible way to spend my money. It would only go on booze otherwise anyway. There's not a lot of other things I spent my paycheck on – alcohol, cigarettes, the occasional hooker in the past.

I draped an arm around his waist awkwardly, gripping the neck of the whiskey as he shot off down the road, but quickly I found my slack grip tightening as I almost flew backwards off the bike. Cloud didn't seem in the slightest bit phased, and I couldn't really lift the bottle to my lips or light a cigarette like this so I wrapped my other arm around his stomach too and clung on for dear life. I loved riding a motorcycle, but damn, being on the back of one was horrible. That loss of control made me feel vulnerable as hell and I'd opt for clinging to Cloud's waist over tumbling backwards off the bike into the dirt at 60mph any day, as weird as I felt doing it.

The walk that had taken me half an hour from Team Street where the bar was to Sector 5 took us five minutes in the other direction and soon Cloud was pulling up into the parking lot right beside my own bike. I jumped off before he'd even stopped moving in favour of not holding onto him a moment longer than I had to because I really wasn't _that_ drunk… I'd never been a clingy drunk anyway, more the type to go get myself into a really rough fight just for the thrill of getting the crap beaten out of me and being able to inspect all my pretty bruises the next day. Not that Cloud was an ugly man, and I'm sure if I'd been a woman I would have been as hung up over him as Tifa used to be. But you know, I wasn't.

I'd heard, from Cloud in fact, that the two of them had actually tried to have a relationship once they'd settled down in Edge with those orphans they lived with. He said nothing much had happened between them, and he wasn't really interested, but they'd gotten engaged anyway, for the sake of the kids. To try and give them a real family, or some nonsense like that. Far as I saw it, kids didn't need a real family. It was the streets that would teach them what they needed in life; that's how I'd learned and I'd turned out just fine. Eventually.

I'd thought it had all fallen through because Cloud had been too hung up on that Aeris girl, and that was all sorted out after she cured Geostigma from beyond the grave or whatever it was she did, but after seeing Cloud today I started to wonder again; either he was still having some serious problems letting go or something else was troubling him. Perhaps I'd make the effort to find out what was wrong, if the two of us were stopping at the bar… Hang on. "Why we here fer?"

Cloud glanced over his shoulder at me as I followed him inside, pointing at the almost empty bottle in my hand. "I figured we were going to need another one of those if we're making this damn trip." He sighed, but he still sounded slightly amused. I'd still bet it was my accent making him laugh. He probably hadn't heard a slum accent that bad in years… but I just couldn't help it sometimes, when I'd been drinking.

"Sounds good ta me."

He opened his mouth to speak again as I necked the remaining contents of the bottle, but was quickly cut off by a cry of his name.

"Cloud! You're home!"

I hardly saw the small brown shape catapult itself but the next thing I knew, Cloud tumbled back into me and suddenly had an armful of ten year old. I don't think he saw her coming either because he was staring down at the grinning girl with wide eyes as I righted the both of us before we all fell to the floor.

"Marlene," he said warmly, but I could still hear the annoyed undertone in his voice. I think he honestly did really care about his 'family' as it were, but they genuinely did seem to irritate him. It was a shame, really. I still remembered when Kadaj's gang kidnapped the kids and the look on his face as he'd fought a silent struggle with himself over what to do. I think he'd almost completely given up back then and accepted that he was going to die from the stigma, but in the end it seemed he cared too much to condemn them to death too. Although I think it might have helped his decision that I flat-out refused to help him. "You're getting a little big to be jumping on me like that."

Marlene giggled and grinned impossibly wider, flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly before she hopped down and catapulted across the room again.

"Tifa! Tifa! Cloud's home!"

I chuckled as I passed the bothered blonde and headed towards the bar where the small girl had hurtled off to, wielding my empty bottle. "Kids ey, Strife? Hope I never have 'em."

"I didn't choose to." He muttered as I took a seat on one of the barstools, opting to lean over the bar beside me, stretching his arms out across it lazily. I laughed again, as Tifa came up to us with the girl in tow.

"Cloud, you're back." She said softly, smiling at him before she looked up at me. "I see he's being Mr. Cheery as usual. Nice to see you _again_, Reno."

"Said I'd be back, didn' I?" I smiled, passing her the empty bottle like she had a better use for it than me. "Woulddit be too cheeky ta ask fer a refill?"

"Are you sure, Reno? If you're going to be driving…"

"Cloud didn' 'ave fuel." I informed her, rolling my eyes. "So 'e's takin me 'ome on 'is bike."

"I said I'd take you as far as your helicopter, Reno." Cloud groaned, scuffing his boot on the floor.

"Chopper 'is 'ome." I laughed, nudging him with my elbow. I was trying to get him to smile again, I guess, although I all but knew for certain that my attempts were in vain because I'd never been able to make him smile in front of the people he called his friends. It was almost like he couldn't let them know he was really human, or something.

"You live in your helicopter?" Piped up the curious, disbelieving voice of Cloud's little girl; I looked round sharply at her and wiggled my eyebrows.

"Course! Ya sound shocked." I lied, poking out my tongue. "Why not, Marlene? Gets me where I need ta go, is comfy…"

She giggled and hid behind Tifa slightly as she finished serving another customer, brown eyes peering up me like a timid puppy or a deer or something like that; I wasn't really in the state of mind to be comparing little girls to animals successfully.

"I guess you must have to, since you've quit Shinra to be a delivery boy now, huh?" Tifa laughed, tousling the girl's hair absently as she beamed at me.

"What?" Cloud asked curiously, not really looking at anything.

"Tha's right, Strife! I figured since ya not tryin' ta kill me anymore, I gotta find some other way ta compete with ya! Puma's better than ya bike, takes me anywhere!" I grinned at him, as he glanced sideways at me. I knew he could tell I was bullshitting, so no harm done there. "Perhaps lil' Marlene would even like ta come fer a ride sometime!"

I honestly had no idea why I'd just made that offer, because really I was just rambling on and trying to bug Cloud. I made a habit out of irritating him; I guess I just liked making trouble for myself, or something. Like that time after Weapons attack on Midgar when I thought Rufus had kicked the bucket, but still took it upon myself to start a fight with Avalanche when they returned to Midgar anyway, like it was still my job even after ShinRa had fallen.

"Maybe when she's a little older," Tifa smiled and stooped down to Marlene, telling her essentially, although in kinder words, to go bug Shelke instead. I snorted with laughter and leant my head on the bar.

"You'd make a good father you know." Cloud mused quietly when Tifa had her back turned. I raised an eyebrow at him and shook my head. No way, he did not just say that. Me, a good father? The idea was obscene.

"I'd take that as a compliment, Strife, 'cept it's comin from _you_."

"What?"

"Oh, nothin. Yer such a great father, that ya got every right ta judge who else would be…" I sniggered, as Tifa turned back to us and held out the new bottle of whiskey.

Cloud scoffed, all but snatching the drink from Tifa and turning to the door. "We should get going."

"Fine with me!" I sighed, throwing up my hands slightly. How we'd managed to turn the joke into something of a fight was beyond me but that's how it always was between Cloud and me. We'd scarcely talk, and when we did it'd go from friendly to feral and back again in a manner of minutes. Not that I minded in the slightest, because company was company all the same. I'd never really been in a position to pick and choose what kind I'd like.

I smirked at Tifa as she reminded me to come back and pay my tab some time; I waved slightly in a simple goodbye before I slid down off the bar stool and went to follow him. Before he'd even made it to the door, I'd snatched the whiskey from him.

"Cloud," she called after the blonde as we crossed the room. He said nothing, stopping in his tracks and not even bothering to look round. "When will you be home again?"

He looked up slowly and regretfully over his shoulder, but didn't say a word as he continued out the door. I shot Tifa a sympathetic look as I followed him, not really wanting to intervene with whatever the hell was going on here. Hell, I was having a hard enough time dealing with my own shit lately, so I don't think I'd do too well meddling in anyone else's. _Especially_ when I was drunk. With that thought, I opened the new bottle of whiskey.

"Yanno Spiky," I said, stumbling down the front steps of 7th Heaven and catching his arm to steady myself. He shook me off and shot me a murderous look as he got onto the bike. "We don' gotta go _right_ now."

"Don't call me that." He snapped, shoving his keys into the ignition.

"Le's hang out in Edge fer a bit. Whaddya say?" I laughed, taking a swig from the bottle as I leant against the back of his bike and fumbled around in my pockets for my cigarettes. The idea of going home again just to hang out by myself with my deck of cards wasn't too appealing.

"You're drunk."

"I know! And ya _should_ be drunk! C'mon Strife, live a lil'." I extracted my lighter from the inside pocket of my jacket, clamping a cigarette between my teeth and going to light it, only to have Cloud grab my wrist and take it from me.

"Don't light that here." He warned me, putting the lighter in his own pocket so I couldn't take it back. I frowned at him, searching for another one or a match, or something that could help me burn that precious cancer stick. "There's fuel all over the ground. You'll set the damn place on fire." He added as I huffed at him.

"I need that…" I mumbled through closed lips, my search coming up unsuccessful. I frowned, putting the cigarette back with the rest of my slowly diminishing supply of cigarettes. "Fuck, runnin out. Can we make another pit stop, Spiky?"

"_Stop _calling me that, Reno!" Cloud growled, grabbing my arm and pulling me onto the bike himself. Most of the time, when Cloud snapped at me, I couldn't resist bothering him further and I could always tell he wasn't really angry at me, just irritated – and I did irritate him on purpose. Just now, however, he sounded a little more serious. Not that I'd ever agree to stop calling him that, because as far as I was concerned it was an alright nickname and seeing as I'd come up with it, I was quite attached to it. Don't know what his problem with it was, because 'Spiky' sure as hell sounded a lot more dangerous and interesting than 'Cloud', at least in my opinion. "Yes, okay? Let's go."

I grinned triumphantly, taking another swig as I held onto his waist again. I held the bottle up to his lips, leaning out to the side so I could see his face properly. He looked down at the bottle, his eyes unamused at the idea I wanted him to drink from it while I was still holding it, and snatched it out of my hand to drink for himself. "Tha's more like it." I chuckled, taking it back as he started the bike. "Le's go!"

He drove somewhat slower than he had on the way to the bar, turning down some of the smaller twisting roads out of the maze that was Midgul Edge, until we came to an off license in the poorer district. I think he might have been worried I would actually fall off the back this time if he drove any faster because necking straight whiskey didn't really do much for your coordination skills. Luckily for me, years of honing my alcohol abuse to a tee had made me a pretty competent drunk to the point where I could be pretty much this wasted on the field and still complete my assignments. I probably shouldn't have let myself get so wasted but it had happened by accident when I was wandering to Sector 5 and I guess I had to give up all hope of checking out the construction site now. When we eventually reached the chopper, I'd not be able to fly her in this state – it's not that I couldn't, more that I wouldn't in fear of her getting damaged – so I guess I'd just have to sit around and wait until I was sober enough and fly home fast as I could. I should have stopped drinking at that point so I'd sober up faster but the notion that I'd get to hang out in the city with Cloud for a while instead of sitting at home playing solitaire or watching TV again was too enticing. I passed him the bottle as I got off the bike, telling him I'd only be a minute inside.

The shop was as grimy as any you'd find in the area, except that it was actually a shop and not just a stand in the street like the shops further into the Slums were. Not that many people lived in the Slums anymore – the ones that weren't crushed with parts of the plate or uninhabitable – because of Reeve's work but there were still people too poor to move out into Edge and the area had only gotten rougher since Meteor. The man behind the counter was hacking up something terrible as I stepped up to the counter and it was a few moments before he even looked at me. "Yeah?"

"20 pack of Fury Brand an' a lighter." I said, nodding my head at him slightly and tugging my wallet out of my pants.

"That'll be 7 gil." The shopkeeper said, coughing up a storm again as he slid the items across the counter. It was so damn cheap I would have bought a truckload of them if I hadn't been with Cloud, but as it stood I had nowhere to put them.

"That uniform. You a Turk?" someone said behind me. I glanced over my shoulder as I paid the shopkeeper, raising an eyebrow at the stranger.

"Wha's it ta you?" I frowned, taking my cigarettes and turning round to face the punk who'd asked. I've said it before; people were still bitter towards the company for it's regime in the past.

"You got no business comin' round here! ShinRa ain't got no power anymore." The boy snarled. He must have been about seventeen, eighteen maybe. I snorted out a laugh, pulling out a cigarette from my new packet, since I much preferred Fury Brand to the crap I was smoking before anyway.

"The hell's yer problem? I go where the hell I want," I scoffed, stuffing it in my mouth.

"I'm telling ya to stay the hell out of our city. You've done enough damage already, Shinra scum!" The kid pushed me. He freaking pushed me, and I dropped my cigarette before I could light it.

My eyes locked onto him and I growled angrily, grabbing the collar of his shirt and almost lifting him from the ground. "I was gonna _smoke that_!" I yelled, throwing him back against the cooler behind him. I think I threw him a little hard, because I'd only meant to rough him up a little and put him in his place but he yelped in pain as he hit it; I guess I misjudged because I was drunk, or something.

"Watch it!" Snapped the shopkeeper, but I ignored him as the kid righted himself and rubbed his back, glaring daggers at me. I smirked, amused by the simple anger on his face, but seconds later he was throwing a punch my way and yelling something dramatic and threatening. I made no move to dodge his fist, refusing to be intimidated by a little brat who thought he was all high and holy, and wound up getting hit in the jaw. My teeth sank into my lip, splitting it open and filling my mouth with the metallic taste of blood – I'd always liked the taste of my own blood – which pooled out and dribbled down my chin, but I just steadied myself and laughed right in his face. "That all ya got?" I slurred, wiping my chin on the back of my hand as he readied a second punch.

"Jimmy!" The shopkeeper yelled at the punk kid, coming round the counter, and staring at us as he headed up to the back of the room. "Not in the shop! Take it outside, will ya?"

"Dupe's a _Turk_, Eric!" The kid snarled, going to hit me again. This time I did dodge it, stepping out the way at the last second. "Bastard killed Molly in sector 7!"

"Yep, that was yers truly," I laughed, sidestepping as the kid tried to jump me like a feral animal. If this was gonna turn into a full-on fight, I was gonna let it, cause I was drunk and always liked a good fight when I was wasted.

"_You're _the bastard that killed my sister?"

The shopkeeper had turned on me now, coming back down to the front of the shop. Still, I was amused by the situation. Dropping the plate on Sector 7 was not my proudest moment; we knew a lot of innocent people were going to die when we did it but a job was a job and it was _supposed_ to kill Cloud and his lot and eradicate ShinRa's biggest threat. I'd agreed to do it, well, honestly because I'm a little screwed up in the head, or something. I didn't like to kill innocents but I think some twisted part of my mind really wanted to bury my past under a heap of rubble. The whole 'leaving the past in the past' thing was definitely easier when there was no one around to remind me of it, because everyone was dead. I liked that; everyone from my past was dead. Dead and buried under 6 feet of broken concrete.

"The very same." I cackled, pulling out my mag-rod as the shopkeeper lunged at me, clawing my face like a savage beast. I have no idea what he was trying to achieve but he was yelling his head off about revenge and not really getting anywhere. The lardy man was strong though and easily pinned me to cooler. I'm sure I could have broken free if I really tried but I was quite happy to let them batter me a little before I turned on them and showed them exactly what it meant to be a Turk. Drunk or not, I could take down twenty men like them effortlessly, so there was no reason to not let them have a little fun first. I liked to play with my prey. At least I'd get some pretty bruises to inspect when I got back to Healin.

"Ya think it's funny, Turk?" Jimmy hissed, pulling something out of his boot. Little bastard had a knife. "Lemme at 'im, Eric! No one will care. Doin' the world a favour!"

Okay, a knife was not fun. I started to struggle, my vision a little hazy from the whiskey and the battery.

"If yer gonna do it, do it!" I taunted, fumbling with the strap in my hand. The kid lunged forward again, holding his knife all wrong and slashing at me in the most inexperienced way I'd seen in years. As the blade struck my stomach, I pressed the switch on my mag-rod and suddenly both my attackers were stumbling backwards, shaking with the jolt of electricity I'd hit them with, cursing and yelling.

"What's taking you so long-"

Veering my head around at the sound of Cloud's voice, I found him standing in the doorway looking slightly horrified. I smirked, laughing morbidly to myself. "Rough neighbourhood, huh Spiky?"

"No shit. Reno, the fuck is going on?" Cloud yelled, as both men struggled back to their feet, disorientated after I'd just fried them.

"Nothin' I can't handle. Don' get yer panties in a twist, Strife."

He shot me a furious look before he turned his attention to the other two. The blonde glared silently for a moment, glancing back at me like he was looking for an explanation. The punk kid and the shopkeeper looking fucking terrified once they'd realized who'd just walked into the shop; I suppose saving the world twice did earn him some sort of respect from everyone, not to mention his ridiculous strength and apparent inability to die making him frightening. Perhaps I should try doing that sometime. They might have been more frightened by Cloud's apparent friendship with me though – not that that's what we shared, but I suppose it looked like it from the outside – since they'd been moments from killing me a second ago. I just laughed again, wiping the bleeding scratches on my face on with my sleeve and pulling out my cigarettes again. I looked down at the packet with a frown.

"Whatever the hell's going on here, I don't want to know. Let's go before you get your scrawny ass in any more trouble, Reno." Cloud sighed, lifting the now half empty whiskey bottle to his lips again before he offered it to me. I chuckled, passing him by and going back over to the shop counter. As always, the alcohol had loosened Cloud's tongue, and it never failed to amuse me. "What are you doing now? Come on."

"Jus a sec." I said, climbing up onto the counter and retrieving a new packet of cigarettes from behind the counter. I think I deserved it, since that punk had knocked one of mine to the floor before I'd even gotten to smoke it, and then tried to kill me. I hopped down again, wincing at the pain in my stomach as I did so, and tossed the open packet at the shopkeeper. "Alrighty. I'm outta here."

Cloud followed me out of the shop, as I smirked triumphantly at the two who'd tried to attack me. The mag-rod wasn't set too high, but the voltage was enough to leave them with a headache for days and now they'd seen Cloud with me, they'd think twice about messing with a Turk again, probably. I hate to think what might have happened if it had been Elena in the shop and not me; she wasn't as vulnerable as she looked sometimes, but she was a pretty young woman and gross men like those two would probably try and take advantage of her.

"What the hell was that about?" Cloud snapped, once we were outside. "No, don't tell me. I don't care."

"Punks still gotta problem with ShinRa." I explained anyway, taking the bottle from him finally and downing a few inches of it. Suddenly I hissed, wincing in pain as the wound in my stomach started to sting really badly. I stopped, pulling up my bloody shirt to look at it. I hadn't really even noticed I'd gotten hurt before because the alcohol numbed the pain but the gash was actually quite deep.

"You're bleeding." Cloud said, the statement sounding somewhat like a question as if he'd just noticed for the first time.

"Nah, it's nothin." I said, waving him away with the bottle of bourbon before taking another drink from it, all the time not taking my eyes off the gash. I prodded it a bit for good measure, hissing again because it really did hurt. Funny how some wounds just hurt more than others, depending on where they are – breaking my arm didn't hurt all that much, although it did when Vincent snapped it, but this was right through a muscle and every time I moved, it stretched. Still, nothing I couldn't handle because I'd had much worst, like when Cloud ran me through completely with his stupid sword on the pillar at Sector 7. That damn blade actually went right in one side and came out the other slightly, and I was damn lucky to get away alive. But that was all a distant memory now.

"Let me see it." Cloud said, pushing my hand away and crouching down slightly to take a look at it.

"Is jus a scratch, Strife!" I protested, but the way I winced in pain as I spoke said otherwise.

"It's deep."

"No shit." I sighed, pulling him upright again and trying to stare him the eye. "'M fine, Cloud."

"Not for long, Reno. Not like that." The blonde said defiantly, grabbing my elbow with one hand as I let go of him and searching for something in his back pocket with the other. "Just let me-"

Which is when I saw the green glow. My eyes widened impossibly and I thrashed out at him; it was pretty pathetic really but I was drunk and there wasn't much else I could do. "Wait, Spiky! Ya don' wanna… please don'…"

"Its just Cure, Reno. Stop struggling."

"But! B-but!" I stammered, pushing him away as he slotted the materia into his wrist protector. I could already feel the mako in my body drawing towards the glowing orb like it was a magnet. I tried to step away from him but he had my arm in a death grip and pushed me against the wall. "Stay still, dammit! _Cure_."

The hiss of his voice was the last thing I heard before I cried out in pain as my wounds knitted together and my body heated up unnaturally. The wounds were small and the reversal only took a matter of agonizing seconds, but I knew what was coming next. I just didn't _want_ it to.

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Cloud sighed, releasing me and returning the materia to whatever pocket he'd pulled it out of. I wasn't really paying attention, as I watched the mako dancing in my eyes with a strange fascination. I could see it clearly as if it was in front of me; if I hadn't been so… _hot_ then I might have found it quite mesmerizing but as it were, my thoughts were focused on another part of my body. "Let's go, Reno, or the sun will be up before we reach the helicopter."

"Har-har," I groaned, limping slightly over to him to hide the embarrassment between my legs. All I could think was fuck, not again… Because I'd managed to avoid this for like, almost two years now and suddenly it had happened twice in one week. Must have had some fucked up karma to deserve all the shit I was going through lately. Not like I had any clue what I'd done that was so bad. "Won' be up fer hours yet…"

I sat as far back on the motorcycle seat as I could, hanging onto his shoulders instead of his waist to avoid the extra contact… the alcohol wasn't helping, but I took another swig anyway as a way of distracting myself. I was slowly losing control of my senses and they were blaring worse than ever and making my head pound. I tried to recall a time when I'd had Cure used on me when I was drunk in the past but I couldn't – generally I was alone when I got into a fight.

I could already feel the swelling between my legs getting worse and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as Cloud took the bourbon off me to take a drink himself. "I take it we're not hangin out in the city then…" I asked grimly, wishing I'd not asked him to take me back to the chopper so I could go find some easy bird to spend the night with and fuck away this frustration.

"And risk you getting in more trouble? No." Cloud snapped, pushing the bottle back into my hand and pulling it around his waist. "You're going to fall off if you don't hold on properly. Don't make me tie you to me, Reno."

Staring at his offending hand, which was still gripping my forearm lightly, I tried to comprehend what he'd just said amongst the mental images of being tied down to a bed. Now I'd never had a problem with being a little experimental in the bedroom but Cloud? That was too strange to think about. "Y-yeah, sure. Whatever." I slurred, trying not to hold on too tight as he started the ignition again.

The journey was literally hell on wheels. We sped out of the city and I was finding it hard to even sit still, suddenly becoming one hell of a lot less capable at dealing with the situation after the second bottle of bourbon was finally emptied. It was a bit hard to fidget when you're tearing down a highway at 60mph and somewhere along the way I'd balled my fists into Cloud's vest, gripping it desperately like it would release some of the fucking tension I was feeling.

All my hard work of the past week was falling to shit because it seemed all the thoughts I'd been trying so hard to block out had seiged the mental barrier I'd put up and all I could think about was when Vincent had used Cure and Rufus' face when he moaned through his delirium. Fuck, fuck, I was so close to Cloud's back right now and I think if I was any more fucked I would have thrown myself from the back of the bike regardless of the fact it would probably kill me at this speed just to get away from him. I felt like drowning myself and he didn't have a fucking _clue_ and he'd probably be laughing his pretty little head off if he knew. I mean, his spiky little head. What was his damn problem with that nickname anyway? Although that wasn't so much at the forefront of my mind as my feelings were, and the fucking memories they started to stir up that I didn't _want_ to fucking remember, because I left the past in the past for a damn good reason and if I wasn't so drunk, thinking about them would have made me sick. Actually, maybe throwing myself off the bike was a good idea, because being dead was probably a lot more fun than this.

And then, like the damn blonde bastard had read my mind and knew what I intended on doing, he braked hard and spun the bike round to a stop. Fuck, that wasn't good for my head after this much booze.

"Reno," Cloud said, somewhere amongst the spinning colours and dizziness as I tried to focus again and found myself laughing suddenly because as horny and frustrated as I was, not being able to see was damn funny. Just one of the things I _love_ about getting completely smashed. "Where did you leave the-"

I looked up, focusing on his spiky hair and pale eyes that seemed to shine wherever the hell he was – they'd probably flash like beacons in a pitch-black room – and trying to comprehend why he'd trailed off like that. Might have had something to do with the fact I was now clinging to his chest so tight he could hardly turn to look at me over his shoulder, but that was only because when he'd spun the fucking bike I had to in fear of _actually_ flying off it, because I didn't _actually_ want to die, even if I was a little fucked up in the head. Or a lot. Whatever.

"Cloud?" I asked anxiously, staring curiously into his mako tainted eyes.

"You're…" he started, but looked a little lost for words, because he opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly shut it again and looked away. "Pressing… into my back…"

"Huh?" I said, feeling slightly dumbfounded as I loosened my grip on his top. "Oh. Well, ya almost threw me off the damn bike, ya know!"

"Umm…" The blonde frowned, looking slightly uneasy – I had almost got my vision back now as the dizziness subsided and I swear could almost see a tinge of red on his pale face, which was still looking a little worse for wear. It only took a moment wondering about what the hell he was uncomfortable about for me to realize, just as he spoke up again. "I mean… a little lower…"

Screwing my face up in embarrassment, I shifted as far back on the motorcycle as I could without slipping off it and grinned in a wired, kill-me-now sort of way, hands covering my crotch like doing so would make him forget what he'd felt, although it probably only confirmed it. "Fuck, is… uhh..." I muttered, turning a deeper shade of red than the hair on my head and suddenly feeling twice as drunk as I was whilst I struggled to find the right words, refusing to open my eyes and see the look on Cloud's face.

Although suddenly it seemed like it didn't really matter whether I wanted to look or not because my eyes shot open as his hand brushed along my thigh and fuck, I didn't even have a moment to gather my thoughts let alone open my mouth to speak before he'd shifted closer and pressed his lips harshly against mine. The only thing I had time to comprehend was the bright blue of his eyes as he leaned in, filled with uncertainty and piercing into my own. I didn't even notice he'd turned around in his seat, until his hand had trailed up to my waist and crushed us together.

And I should have pushed him away, or myself away, or something but I didn't, because the contact was enough to make me tense and squirm in his arms, try and kiss him deeper and gaia, thrust myself closer, desperate for some kind of release from my fucking arousal. Fuck, _why couldn't I control my libido_?

So it was Cloud who ended the kiss, pulling away slowly and leaving the lingering taste of mako and bourbon on my lips. My hand drifted up to touch them as I stared at him, panting slightly and feeling completely lost. He only stared back, mouth slightly open like he wasn't really sure what to say, but his shining eyes looked less doubtful. I fucking cursed myself for thinking about his eyes when there was a more pressing issue at hand; he'd just kissed me. _Cloud_ had just fucking _kissed _me. Despite the fact I was fucking shocked, I was mortified that I'd just… _kissed him back_. He was a fucking guy. I didn't do that. But I hadn't pushed him off. Why the fuck not? What was _wrong with me_?

It usually takes a lot to horrify me. No amount of blood and gore could do it anymore. No mutated creature or experiment of Hojo's would unnerve me, even if it materialized out of thin air. But this was something different. "I-" I stuttered, shifting back even further and not getting to finish my sentence because I fell right off the back of the bike.

I didn't hit the floor though, because he fucking caught me as I was falling; luckily not by swooping down to catch me in his arms or any sick shit like that because I think I would have actually puked my guts out if he had – in fact, he just grabbed the collar of my shirt and tugged me upright onto the seat again.

"Cloud." I said quietly, trying to look anywhere but at the blonde and failing miserably because there was nothing for miles that could distract me from the truth of what had just happened. "Ya don' understand whas goin on…"

The worst part about it had to be the throbbing between my legs that was just begging me to do it again.

But once again, whether you conceive it as a lucky or unlucky thing, because really I would have just sat there til sunrise staring in horror, I found the decision was not mine to make; I opened my mouth to speak again only to meet two silencing fingers that pressed up against them as Cloud leaned back in, and past me, until his cheek was pressed against my ear. I half-expected the damn bastard to say something sick and poetic and I must have gone into shell shock because once again, I just did nothing. All he whispered was "Shh…"

"Oh _gods_!" I cried out, ignoring his soft order as his hand slipped between my legs, running slowly across the bulge that was causing this whole fucking mess right here. "Ahh-!"

The rest of my desperate cry was swallowed as he kissed me again, this time sinking his gloved fingers into my hair and pulling my head back slightly. Every time his tongue plunged into the kiss, his hand pressed forward and, fuck, all I could do was thrust back against it for the friction I so desperately needed. "C-cloud…" I moaned, my eyes half-lidded and my hands balling up his vest again and shaking from the whole fucking ordeal. I don't know if it was just the materia, or the fact I hadn't had sex in a while now but every touch was fucking electric and my body was begging for something more.

'Cloud'. My eyes snapped open, like I'd just woken up from a bad dream – perhaps I had – the second the name spilled from my lips. I pushed him away and stumbled back again, my sudden revelation hitting me like a ton of fucking bricks. "I-I'm a guy, Cloud!" I yelled in a burst of sudden anger, glaring daggers at him and once again falling off the bike, only this time I did find myself on the floor and wondering if I really was just having some sick nightmare. It would hardly surprise me with the general warped direction of my thoughts lately.

However, as soon as I was down, I found myself upright; the both of us were standing on solid ground, not that I'd noticed that happening because I was dizzy again and suddenly holding onto his shoulder to steady myself. "I know." He said roughly, one hand on my chin, pulling me close enough to kiss again, as the other grabbed my own hand and lead it down between his legs. "Does it look like I care?"

I shook my head, struggling away from him slightly and twisting my hand free from his, surprised to find he happily let go in favour or resting his own hand against my belt. "Wait!" I snapped, half-heartedly pulling away from him because I could feel the warmth from his hand exactly where I needed it to be already.

"Reno, either we do it here, or you walk away from this right now." Cloud growled softly, staring me in the eyes. That should have been an easy fucking choice, but I found my frustration and my lips betraying me again.

"Wait…" I mumbled, as his hand slid down my chest, from my chin to my free wrist. "Not here, Spiky. Lodge… is only twenty minutes away… ahh-!"

He growled deeper, one hand pulling my body flush against him and dragging us both back onto the bike again as the other rubbed me agonizingly slowly through my pants.

"_Call me that again._"


	8. Chapter 8

Warnings: foul, foul language and drunk, vague smut

**Hey, lovelies. I'm back. Summer was busy, and Game Design College has taken over my whole bloody life but I hope I'm still writing up to your standards… Unbeta'd, beware, but I wanted to get it out to you as fast as I could.**

**Warnings: foul, foul language and drunk, vague smut**

8 --

Everything at that moment was about skin on skin. His hands gripped tightly around his bike's rubber handlebars as my fingers groped and wandered around their new discovery of pale, untainted flesh; too many _fucking_ layers of clothing dulled the friction in a very unwelcome way. He let out a low, guttural growl…

"Fuck's sake, Reno. Cut that out, I can't fucking c-c-"

"Concentrate? Ya sure gotta dirty mouth when yer drunk, Strife…"

"I'm _trying_ to not get us _killed_ here."

"Whas wrong, Spiky? Can't take a lil' distraction while ya drive?"

My bony, curious fingers tugged at his restricting waistband, pushing up his black vest and running across every contour of his firm, ripped chest that they could find as I pressed my whole body flush against his back, desperate for more contact; he let out a breathless moan from the front seat, as his protruding, defined muscles tensed in frustration and tested patience. I watched and felt everything that happened like an outsider, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

"Take your hands _off_ me or we're not going anywhere…"

"Then I'll fall off yer bike, dumbass."

"There are-" He let out a quiet gasp, and the dirt around us churned up in thick clouds; the bike's tires roared against the rocky ground as the bike span to a stop. He turned and stared right at me. "_Other_ ways for us to do this. Do you _want_ me to tie you up?"

"Ya'd like that, huh? Would it help ya sleep at night?" Vaguely I knew he'd mentioned something like that earlier but I was fucked if I could remember. A smirk curled at the corners of my mouth, as his strong, gloved hand gripped my shoulder almost painfully and his other grabbed my ponytail and yanked; I felt his torturous lips on my neck, nipping and licking and _fuck_ it felt good, and I hardly spared a moment to wonder how he knew I liked having my hair pulled, the fucking nosy bastard.

"You know I'd have no problem doing this right _here_. _You're _the one who wanted to go to the lodge, so stop-" Someone gasped; could have been him or me this time as I was concentrating on trying to feel every inch of his taut body under my roaming hands. "Fucking-" I let out a gasp of my own, because his teeth sunk into my neck like some kind of fucking ravenous beast and for fucks sake, I _actually _liked it and no one had been that rough with me in a long time. His teeth were as strong as fangs, and I felt them break through my skin, droplets of blood rolling down onto my shirt collar. "-Teasing me!"

"_Okay." _I groaned, a moan of submission I was barely aware was even my own, because the mako and the alcohol intoxication my body had clouded every single one of my senses and I was even shaking. I couldn't remember how this had started, or even what was happening five minutes prior but I did know how I wanted it to end. No, how it was _going_ to end. Because either I was going to _come hard_ tonight and it wasn't going to be on my own hand and I was going to scream out my ecstasy for the whole fucking planet to hear or… or… I was going wake up dead and this was all part of some sick plan.

This was all sick anyway, but the mako lit up at every touch and exploded inside me and blinded me 'til all I could do was thrust forward for more friction and not give a shit about my morals. Never needed morals anyway. Better off without them. All I needed was touch, his touch, any touch and I didn't stop to consider why my body had gone insane for it like I'd been deprived for years but the alcohol was definitely something to do with it, because it definitely wasn't…

"C-cloud…" A stutter, a cry of frustration, a smirk on his lips as he hauled me onto the bike in _front_ of him so I couldn't abuse him anymore and we shot off again; something big pressed up against my back, my thoughts wandered, my mind reeled, there was no _way _that… bulge… was going to fit inside me, no freaking way. No, I was going to have to pin him down to win this one. Perhaps I could pretend he was a girl, that way.

But I couldn't lie to myself. No point anyway. I was drunk as fuck, and I'd already _realized_ I was a sick fuck 'cause I was thinking about my boss in the shower… Rufus… wasn't at the lodge. He would never know about this; would like to keep it that way. A hand wrapped tightly around my hair, yanking it until my head fell flat back on Cloud's shoulder. The bike had stopped. No idea when, but the lodge was visible on the cliffs above.

"Rufus and the Turks?"

Didn't need to be asked twice. "Away. L-lodge is empty." I stuttered, as a hand that wasn't my own snaked down to my throbbing erection again; there was another burst of mako in my eyes, another burst of pleasure sending shivers down my spine. I couldn't shake the feeling that something about what I'd just said but it didn't matter because all that mattered was the hand palming my crotch. I thrust against him harder. Against Cloud. I am a _sick fuck_. I like it.

We started to move again, and with pleasure gone momentarily, I felt depraved. Then, suddenly there were strong hands on my waist, and my long legs wrapped around his, and I heard the door slamming back on his hinges. My head reeled again, but the lips pressed harshly against mine grounded me, pulled me back to the present.

"Where-?"

"Bottom of stairs, end of hall…" I mutter with ragged breath, barely breaking the kiss to speak. The lights are off but I think he could see anyway. And then my feet were back on the ground, and the stairs felt so completely impossible. I began to run down them two at a time, and then jumped from half way, landing like a cat despite my diluted sense of direction. Must be the training. Grabbing his hand, I threw him up against the wall and we kissed again, tongue on tongue, teeth in lip, and it was vicious and brutal and probably full of hatred but I felt too fucking _dizzy_ to notice we'd stopped and that I'd dragged him into my bedroom, onto my bed, and we've started thrusting against each other before I've said the two words I never expected to hear out of my own mouth.

"_Fuck me_." It was more like a cry of desperation than a demand but I didn't take the time to sit back and feel pathetic because I was too busy ripping off my clothes to even notice him manoeuvring me onto my knees across the mattress. Absently I knew the mako affliction was getting worse with every minute that passed, because I could hardly see. I let out a guttural groan and let my head fall forward as I felt his tongue doing ungodly things between my cheeks like he just _knows_ what he's doing… _I _fucking knew what he was doing and it was hard not to thrust backwards. I struggled not to, helped by his strong, calloused hands on my hips gripping too tight and leaving bruises which hurt so good that I wanted to scream. "Fuck me, already!"

"Impatient are we, Reno?"

"Fuckin' _do it_, Strife," I yelled, but I was too completely off my face to care and his fingers pricked my skin like fire and I needed more, _more_ touch from him and none of this 'I don't want to hurt you' shit that was obviously going through his head.

His hands struggled against my hips, trying to turn me over; I didn't _want_ to look at him but I was too far gone to resist for more than a moment. His blue eyes pierced into my own, which must have been completely green from all the mako. His hands explored my body like they'd never felt anything like it before. I felt a massive pressure against my backside and…

His tongue dove harshly into my mouth, swallowing my scream.

--

The slow, rhythmic pounding of my head would make a very interesting beat for a song. This was my first thought as I slowly woke, refusing to open my eyes, knowing from experience that doing do was only going to make my headache worse. Instead, I chose to lie there, slide my arm out from beneath the nest of covers and rub my head slowly. It never really helped, but I guess it gave the impression of helping or something because I always did it, like I could rub out the hangover. I peeled my bangs from my face as I did so; they'd stuck there in my sweat over night, not that I wanted to think about why I was sweaty. The memory might have been a little hazy, but it was still there… another reason why I didn't want to open my eyes.

Despite the fact I was trying my hardest not to wake the softly snoring lump beside me, in fear of having to deal with the-morning-after, eventually I just couldn't take lying still any longer and shifted in an attempt to turn over. I liked sleeping on my stomach, face down in the pillow, despite the fact I could probably suffocate in my sleep that way. Maybe that was even _why_ I liked sleeping on my stomach, because I've said it before; my sub-conscious is definitely masochistic. Just look at the current situation, for example.

Rolling over turned out to be a little more difficult than I'd hoped because of one strong, thoughtlessly placed arm that was slung over my back, holding me down. I wiggled around, finally opening my eyes out of pure frustration that I couldn't move. Cloud wasn't awake, and I can't stress enough how much I appreciated that. I probably would have lynched the bastard if he had been, and he'd been holding me down on purpose; I don't doubt it for a second, because I'm known to be pretty grouchy when I get _this_ hungover. Not to mention that it wasn't just my head that was aching right now and the blonde would be lucky to make it out of here without having me pummel him into the ground.

Gauging that perhaps he was a deep sleeper, because he was yet to wake up with all my wriggling, I tried to lift his arm. He'd not woken the whole time when I'd had to carry him home from the church in Sector 5, when Rude and I had found him and Tifa passed out there – and I hadn't exactly been gentle with his unconscious form, all but tossing it onto my motorbike and heaving him up his staircase by his shoulders, letting his feet drag along the ground. Not my fault he was so damn heavy; Rude was off in his happy place, or whatever, carrying Tifa in his arms like his damn bride and refused to help me out. Cloud's stupid deadweight arm would hardly move and so I shoved it away violently, too frustrated to continue caring whether or not he woke up, only for the forceful action to push me off the side of my small bed and send me tumbling onto the wooden floor.

I let out some stupid strangled cry of surprise, because I really hadn't expected to fall out of bed, as I hit the floor with a loud thud. If I was sort of sleepy before, now I was really fucking awake. I didn't even bother trying to get up again, just curling up on the ground and hiding my face. I was in too much freaking pain to even think about what I was going to do now.

Whenever I have to make that decision around Cloud, it seems like I never have to think for myself anyway because moments later I heard his voice call my name softly, no doubt questioning where the hell I'd disappeared to and why the bed was suddenly cold. I screwed up my face. I didn't want to accept what had happened… with Cloud. It was bad enough anyway but… it was _Cloud_, for fucks sake…

"Re- oh." I peered up at the voice through one open eye nervously. "Good morning."

"Is it?" I grumbled, dragging my body upright in the most exertive effort ever and leaning back against the bed frame. I pulled my knees up to my chest, cowering slightly against myself because I felt so fucking angry with myself.… No, I wasn't going to think about it.

"Reno…" He said softly, running his hand through my hair as he spoke and making me jump. I jerked my head away in surprise stared sharply at him. The blonde was looking right back at me, blue eyes shining in the morning light and his pale lips closed tightly, twitching with a grim, fleeting smile.

Panic rose up in my throat, because now I was looking right at him, sitting up in my own fucking bed, I couldn't deny what the hell had happened last night, and worse, I couldn't help that notice his skin was glowing slightly, the dark around his eyes fading and the haggard look on his tired face was gone. Fuck, if his only problem was that he needed to get _laid_ then I hope he fucking got what he wanted and was going to leave me alone now. Cause here _I_ was, sitting naked on my own damn bedroom floor.

"Ya would do well t'get out now." I hissed, looking away from him at the floor again

He stared at me for a moment and I glared back as dismissively as I could, trying to grapple some kind of authority over this situation despite the fact I was crumpled over myself, naked on the floor.

"…Can't we talk about this?"

"You don't strike me as the type who likes to 'talk', Strife." I snapped, slamming one hand down on the mattress more harshly than I needed to and attempting to propel myself up off the ground. I stumbled, but somehow still evaded his helpful hand that reached out to steady me. The last thing I needed now was his help. I knew I was just furious at the wretched memories that had been stirred, but if I was going to be furious at something, it was going to be him.

"Some things need to be talked out." Cloud said calmly, and I could feel his bright eyes all over me. It almost made me nauseous. I took note of what he said, silently… it must have been Tifa's influence on him that had him saying that. The incident with Sephiroth a year ago _had_ changed the man; sometimes I forgot that. I'd almost expected him just to disappear when I told him to and become a recluse again, or something. "Besides, I can't leave now."

"Oh?" I asked, leaning against the end of the bed, naked as the day I was born and refusing to care. That sounded very matter-of-factly to me, although I had no idea why he'd see it that way. As far as I was concerned, he could leave right now and never show his face again, and I could live out the rest of my life pretending nothing had happened. Of course, that was a little impossible, if only because of both our lines of work.

"We came here on Fenrir. You left your bike at the bar, and your helicopter outside Edge."

…Oh, and there was that.

Fuck, I'd almost forgotten. I darkened my glare and flicked my hand towards my bathroom, not taking my eyes off him. "Fine, whatever. I'm gonna take a shower. Make sure ya not in my bed when I'm done. Might be bad fer ya health." I sneered at him, bending down to grab some clothes off my floor, ignoring the fact I was stark naked and still in pain. I'm sure he had a full view of my ass and was probably checking it out, but what did it even matter now? Nothing he hadn't seen. For all I knew, it was covered in his…

Ew. _Ew_. _No_! I was _not_ going to think about _that_. I shot him one last dark look before I slammed the bathroom door as hard as I could, hoping I'd be able to kill him if I emitted enough hatred in his direction. It didn't work. Never did have much luck with mind bullets. Probably a good thing though, because then I'd find myself having to explain why the hell Cloud was dead – and naked - and not just why he was in my bedroom in the first place.

The hot, hot shower just wasn't hot enough to burn the awful feeling in my gut. It was making my skin crawl. Sinning didn't normally bother me at all; if it did, I'd never have been a Turk – sure, my first few kills left me puking up my guts in shame and utter horror after the deed was done but I was pretty much lacking a conscience in that department. But sleeping with a man? It was something I would never forgive myself for. I was disgusting. I'd spent years building up my walls, job security, real friends and now I'd gone and brought myself back down to the same level I had been… well, nothing could fucking change it now. But it hurt. The past always has a way of coming back to bite you on the ass.

I found myself actually shaking under the shower, cold sweat running over my body under the boiling water. I'd been so occupied in my thoughts I hadn't even noticed my own arms snaking round my chest to try and suppress the shivers. Staring down at them in disbelief like I'd just grown tentacles or something, I pulled them away again slowly. Sure, I was angry that it had happened, and at Cloud, and at myself for letting it happen but getting emotional was not my style.

Besides, there was nothing else I could do but what I always did and I guess it was better that way – leave the past in the past. Forget about it, write it off as an accident, let it drift into the back of my mind and settle as a far-off memory that might as well have been a dream. With all the shit that was going on recently, I couldn't let _this_ trouble me. It was hardly the worst thing that had ever happened to me.

Then again, it could be, if word got out. I couldn't risk anyone finding out what had happened between Cloud and me last night either, because it would ruin us both, surely. Or at least me. The planet's greatest hero had fucked with ShinRa's biggest brat. The rest of the planet would probably view it as another triumph for The Good Guys.

I'd squeezed my eyes shut in defence against the spray of the shower and against my own thoughts, but suddenly they'd shot open again. It had just occurred to me for the _first_ time since I'd dragged Cloud to the lodge the night before that _Vincent_ was in the lodge. Not only were these walls not the most soundproof of things – and I'm sure I'm not the quietest _fuck _when I'm completely pissed – but also, if Cloud saw Vincent here, the shit was going to hit the fan really fucking seriously. All kinds of questions were going to be raised and shit would leak about what ShinRa was up to… the first thing I could write off without too much difficultly unless Vincent saw _Cloud_ here… and then I was in fucking trouble myself, forget ShinRa.

So there was no more time to try and wash away how wrong I felt because there were more serious matters at hand. That could wait for later, when I wasn't about to get caught red-handed in two of the worst possible ways at the same time. There wasn't even time to scold myself, so silently dubbing myself the biggest fool that ever lived, I hurtled out of the shower and into my pants, tugging my shirt on with more difficultly than normal and not bothering to do the buttons up because those things had a way of being really, really tough when you were in a hurry.

I can't say I thought I'd ever be able to say I was unhappy that Cloud was no longer in my bed, but I was. Was he some kind of fucking morning person or something? _Why_? Admittedly I'd told him to get the hell out of there but I didn't think for a second he was actually going to do as I said. Where would he go?

I was racking my brain for ideas as I stumbled out of my room, cursing the fact I was yet to take the initiative to drink a potion for the dull ache all over my body, which got a million times worse when I walked around. Unless Cloud was as much of a snoop as I am and was ransacking Rufus or Tseng's things, the kitchen and the lounge seemed the only plausible place he would have gone so I scurried down the hall towards the staircase, which looked a lot more menacing now the stabs of pain in my lower back were perfectly in time with my movements.

I was right to predict the stairs being hell; every step I took was like an acute agony that only lasted a brief moment, although I thought the memory of the pain it caused would never rinse away. I hate it when you've healed, but you can still remember what hurting felt like. Its one thing I seem to be cursed with for a long time after I get hurt, almost every single time it happens. This was worse even than when I'd broken my arm a few weeks ago. I stopped halfway up the stairs and groaned unhappily; the pain was a very obvious way of telling that men just weren't meant to _do_ what I'd done the night before. It just wasn't right.

"Reno."

"Huh?" I turned in slight surprise, grimacing as I did so, before I realized who was standing behind me. "Uh… Vincent. Yes?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, with honest concern that was almost masked by his dark voice. I'd learned to recognize it now, at least. "You've been standing there for some time now."

I think I paled a few shades, which is quite an achievement for someone with skin as ivory as my own. I must have looked as white as a sheet. He took note of it silently, his red eyes flicking across my face. Just looking at them suddenly creeped me out. To think that I'd been using words like 'captivating' when I described them to myself! I was _not_ turning into some grade-A faggot.

Vincent was obviously concerned about me, because he pulled out a potion and pressed it into my hand silently. His unnerving stare had me uncapping it and downing it in an instant, just so he wouldn't look at me anymore. "Thanks," I muttered, avoiding his eyes. He was seemingly satisfied, as he slid past me, taking the small vial from me once again as he did so.

"Are you unwell?" He asked without turning to look at me, as he slowly moved up the staircase. "I could make breakfast. It would make you feel better."

The way he spoke had me convinced that he had utterly no idea why on earth eating food would make someone feel better, almost like he couldn't experience that for himself. Perhaps he couldn't… I almost found myself agreeing, until I realized why I had turned deathly pale in the first place. "No, it's fine!" I yelled, chasing him up the stairs at a ridiculously slow speed, as the potion worked it's magic and my body began to return to its normal state. He glanced back over his shoulder at me as he reached the top of the stairs, before he stepped out of sight into the hall. I hissed, hurrying after him. "Y-ya don' have to!"

"Reno, you are stuttering. I could make it for whoever you're here with too, if that's the issue…" Vincent said politely, turning to face me as we neared the kitchen. He pointed subtly at my neck, like he needed to explain himself. My hand shot up to feel the slight bruises, I assume from Cloud's teeth by the feel of them, which were yet to start fading with the help of the potion. I think I might even have flushed a little there… until I saw over Vincent's shoulder just who was sitting in the kitchen at the table.

Cloud. I froze on the spot and grimaced. Why did he have to sit in plain view? He didn't even know if Rufus and the other Turk's were at the lodge, as far as I knew, although I think that might have come up in conversation as he brought me here the night before. Perhaps he didn't care if they saw him here or not. He'd probably made up some excuse as to why he'd come here and stayed the night already. Or at least, I tried to tell myself that.

"What makes ya think that I…" I mumbled helplessly, as if he hadn't just pointed out the really obvious love bites littering my pale neck. I kept my voice low, fearing the worst. Any minute Cloud was going to hear us and then Vincent was going to know… "I mean… I… got yer parcel delivered, Vince."

Somehow I doubted he was convinced in the slightest by my forced grin, as he folded his arms stiffly and raised one eyebrow. "'Vince'? You're changing the subject, Reno…" I watched the corners of his mouth turn up in a smirk he seemed unable to contain, and swallowed dryly. This was totally about to turn into the worst day of my _life_, I knew that already. "You never struck me as the type of man to get embarrassed over a lay."

I'm sure my eyes widened ridiculously as I choked back a laugh, not really sure what I found funny all of a sudden, except that I was just about to roast him over the fact he'd used the word 'lay' in terms of a bed partner and I hadn't heard anyone say that since I was a scrawny little teen. My mouth opened to jeer at him, but the words never came out…

"Reno, are you up? I made coff-"

Instead, I found the only thing I was able to articulate was an entirely appropriate squeal of "Shit!" as I stepped back in panic, Vincent grabbing at my wrist before I tripped back down the staircase I'd struggled my way up just minutes earlier. I barely even noticed as he pulled me towards him to steady me, my eyes fixed on the blonde in the door. In hindsight, I'd say that he had an uncanny ability to keep me from falling over when I fumbled around like a clumsy fool, but that wasn't really the issue at the time… Cloud was staring straight at Vincent, mouth still open a little from what he'd been saying before he'd been stunned into silence. The _priceless_ look on his face would have been fucking hilarious if I wasn't drowning in a truckload of shit right now. I found myself hoping that in a while this would have all just blown over and I'd be able to look back on it and laugh… if I even survived that long. As it were, I was fucking _doomed_.

It wasn't until Vincent jerked his head round to see what the hell had me almost tumbling over backwards that Cloud moved again. I'm surprised he didn't even drop the mug he had in his hand but that was probably subconscious self-preservation because I doubt he'd appreciate hot coffee all over his chest. In fact, it almost looked like he was gripping the mug so hard that it'd smash in his hand any moment. "Vincent?" He finally said, calmly as fuck in a way that brought me back to reality and made me want to smash his composed little face right into the floor. Now the blonde had successfully brought the both of us out of our state of shock I struggled out of Vincent's grip and backed into the wall, dumping my face into my hands in embarrassment.

"Cloud." Vincent said emotionlessly, acknowledging the man and nothing more, much in the manner that he'd spoken to me when we'd first brought him here. I peeked up through my fingers to watch the scene unfold, hoping I could melt into the wall or something equally as life-saving right now, only to have Vincent turn back to face me briefly, the same smirk hovering on his face as there had been moments before Cloud's abrupt interruption. I cowered slightly, wishing a sudden, bloody, painful death upon myself, and those around me to save us all the humiliation of this situation.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud grumbled, staring at the back of Vincent's head, slightly more harshly that I would have expected for a guy who called Vincent one of his friends. Could I call Vincent a friend now? Probably not after what was unfolding right now, but I'd think about that some _other_ time.

I don't know why it took me this long to realize that it was _obviously_ fucking weird to Cloud that Vincent was here but it hit me like a ton of bricks and something in my head snapped. I had to get out of this situation right _now_, _somehow_, or it'd be my head on a stake. I'd probably just been too fucking wrapped up in my own troubles to realize or something. Or I'd just gotten that used to Vincent's presence that I'd forgotten he hadn't just… always been here with us. That second thought unnerved me slightly, for some reason.

"What are you _still_ doin here?" I snapped, throwing my hands down from my face and straightening up before Vincent could speak or Cloud could ask anything else. I doubted that'd throw a man like Cloud off anymore; although there was a time when his self-esteem was so low that a comment like that would send him reeling. That was a long time ago now, though… I used to really enjoy picking fun at the kid, once.

Still, he did recoil a little and stared right back at me. As if he was considering my words for a moment he sipped the coffee he was holding, small scowl on his face as some of it dripped down his chin. I hope it burned the bastard. Slowly he nodded to me, lifting the coffee mug in way of what I almost thought was his pathetic attempt at an explanation for a moment. Then, when he did speak, I found myself wishing it had been. "Sorry. I did want to talk to you about the Stigmatalime though… I'll be on the deck."

So for the second time in five minutes, Cloud left me speechless and stunned, albeit for different reasons. He raised another questioning eyebrow at Vincent as he turned away, but held his tongue and stuck to his word, heading for the deck.

When Cloud was out of sight, I whipped round to stare at Vincent furiously. I wasn't really mad with him… he'd done nothing wrong, but he was the nearest target right now. I'd been given one simple fucking job when the others went away – 'Don't let Valentine escape'. And whilst I hadn't exactly failed to do so I couldn't say I was better off for the fact I'd slept with fucking _Cloud_, and now he knew two of our biggest secrets. Shiva only knows how he found out about Rufus' disease, though. I don't remember the last time I'd fucked up this badly. Everything else just kind of made the fact that Vincent could probably tell what I'd done with Cloud insignificant… or at least until he shattered my anger with two simple, unjudgemental words and I fell apart again. Man, was I ever a wreck.

"You're… gay."

"No!" I shouted in defense, my eyes dropping to my hands, the floor, anything to avoid the crimson gaze of his own eyes. The statement was more of a need for confirmation than it was an insult but I just didn't want to hear it. It wasn't fucking true, anyway. I sucked in several sharp breaths and clenched my eyes shut, almost unconsciously scratching at the wooden panelling of the wall behind me as I tried to calm myself down. "Don'. Don' jump ta that conclusion. I am _not_ a fuckin' queer, okay?" I found myself hissing in defence, looking at him sharply once again before I turned down the hall to head after Cloud and find out what the fuck he was on about. "Ya… don' need ta make breakfast, anyway." I sighed, my steps faltering for a just a moment before I took off at a jog to get away from the man I was almost on the verge of calling my friend. Not anymore, I guess, since he was probably going to hate me for this. That was just another situation I'd damaged with this turn of events. Dammit Cloud, and his stupid materia…

The spiky-haired blonde was leaning over the railing of the deck, steam from his hot coffee visible in the air above him when I exited the lodge. It was a crisp morning and I hugged my shirt around me, still not taking the initiative to do the buttons up, because the horrible, lingering feeling of disgust at myself still hung over my head from when I'd woken up and the last thing I wanted was to feel constricted and trapped by anything, especially my shirt. I hated to feel trapped – I was extremely claustrophobic – one of the reasons I never did up the top buttons of my shirt, or wore a tie, was because the feeling panicked me so much. A tie was like a noose around my neck, I swear.

"How do ya know about the Stigmata thing?" I asked curiously, stepping up beside Cloud and leaning over the rail in much the same fashion that he was, not even turning to look at him as I spoke. Last thing I wanted to do right now was catch the bastard's eye and have to think about what had transpired between us again.

"Why is Vincent here?" Cloud demanded curtly, ignoring my question completely. I could feel his blue eyes boring into my damp skull.

"I asked first." I demanded, pushing a wet bang away from my eyes so I could look out over the misty valley better. The mist hung low on the cliff sides, masking the trees and bathing the scenery in white. It made everything feel a little more surreal, somehow. My brief moment of panic in the shower was like a distant memory, for the time being. Get up and go, that was me. I didn't have _time _to let my thoughts linger on all the shit that I'd done. Or at least that's what I told myself, as my subconscious tried to tell me that lately I had all the time in the world to think if I wanted to.

"You left notes about it lying on your desk. Excuse my curiosity." He explained slowly. "It caught my eye when I was retrieving my clothes."

'Retrieving' his clothes. Gaia, he almost made it sound like a business meeting. Although, for all I knew, he probably even saw it that way. Still…

"I didn't leave those lyin' on my desk," I snapped and looked at him, hinting unsubtly that I was suspicious that he'd been rooting around in my stuff. I wouldn't put it past him. Shiva knows, he was probably looking for a diary or something gay like that to see how I felt.

"Really? Funny. That's where they were, and where they still are."

"But-"

"My turn. Why is Vincent at the lodge with you?"

Cloud's voice had dropped several volumes and I turned to look at him curiously, only to find his hand outstretched. He reached up and tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear slowly, and I watched him with baited breath, revelling slightly in the feel of his fingers running across my neck as he pulled away. Gross, honestly… I must have just been too shaken from the whole ordeal to react. That was it. It occurred to me I shouldn't really be letting him touch me like this considering I'd been on the brink of a panic attack not even fifteen minutes ago. Albeit a panic attack that would never come, because I'd long since learned to suppress them, but it was like teetering on the edge of a void every time I felt one rising up in my throat. I can hardly say I liked the sensation.

Then I flinched. "His reasons are his own." I snapped, turning to look out over the valley and touching my ear where his fingers had been, unhappily. "I think _one_ of them might've been ta keep as far away from yer Avalanche pals as he could, though!"

"I see." Cloud replied steadily, turning his attention away from me again and out over Healin.

We were silent for a few more moments as he sipped his coffee, seemingly lost in thought for the time being. It was almost kind of peaceful, or would have been if it were not for how fucking uncomfortable I felt standing this close to the man after what we'd done the night before.

"Ya wanted ta talk ta me about the Stigmata?" I said hesitantly, turning to face him again, and leaning my back on the railing.

"Not really." He sighed, finishing the last of the coffee and taking his time to stoop and put the mug on the deck floor. "I just wanted to give you time to come up with a viable lie as to why Vincent is here." Cloud scoffed, not looking at me.

"Right." I grumbled, rubbing the back of my neck and fumbling around in the pocket of my pants for the packet of cigarettes that should have still been there from the last time I'd worn them. My eyes lit up as I grasped them successfully, before it suddenly sank in exactly what he'd said and my head snapped round to look at him. "Hey! I wasn't _lying_." I lied, flinching again.

"Sure." He said slowly, pulling a lighter out of his pocket when I failed to find one in my own. No, pulling _my _lighter out of his pocket. I shot him a questioning glance, taking it cautiously like he'd rigged it to explode or something. "You kept trying to burn me with it last night. I wasn't letting you hang onto it."

"Burn you?" I murmured, shaking my head and lighting up. I didn't even want to _think _about what we'd done the night before. I hoped he hadn't heard me in case he wanted to talk about it. In fact, the best option was probably just to change the subject again. "So, ya getting the fuck out of here anytime soon, Strife?"

"Why's Vincent really here, Reno?"

I growled quietly, staring at the outside wall of the lodge, willing my eyes to see through it and find Vincent. Since I didn't know how to activate my eye beam, I just scowled. "None of your business."

"Of course not." Cloud sneered, catching my attention suddenly. As I veered my head round at him I caught his eyes, glaring back at me. "So what? You're sleeping with him now too? Is that it?"

"Hey," I yelled again, shoving his shoulder and almost catching my cigarette on his skin. "What makes you think I'm 'sleeping with' you?"

Cloud said nothing, just continued to watch me silently, so I only saw it as a fit opportunity to tell him exactly where he stood. How _dare _he suggest I was fucking Vincent? I wasn't gay, and of all people… Cloud just… "I was fuckin _drunk_ okay? Intoxicated. Off my head, whatever you wanna call it. I didn't know what I was doing. We'd had too much ta drink and when you used…" I fumbled with my words, my yelling trailing off until it was inaudible, dropping my eyes to the floor and away from his piercing gaze.

"I know... the cure materia right?" He said slowly, turning away from me. "I had no idea you were an addict."

"What? I'm not an addict, Cloud," I was actually shocked that he'd know what he was happening to me… last night… no, I was furious. He'd usedme? And now he was accusing me of being an addict. I had no idea how he connected those two things in his head but still… fucking bastard. To think I'd called the two of us buddies at one point. "_Why _are you still here?"

"Right. Just say the word, Reno." Cloud sighed resignedly, as he bent down to pick up his coffee mug again.

"Leave, then." I snapped, dumping my face in my palm and scratching my temple.

"You're not curious about the Stigmatalime then." The words were more of a statement than a question. I was, but that wasn't the point. Whatever he knew, I did _not_ feel like dealing with right now. Despite the fact it was probably my job to question him, I figured since I wasn't supposed to know about the Stigmata anyway so I could leave it for another time, when it wasn't the morning after he'd just fucked my brains out. Ew, I had to stop thinking about it. He started towards the lodge again but I grabbed his arm. "I'm outta here. You don't need a lift to Edge to pick up your bike?" He said without looking at me.

"No." I sighed, tugging the mug from his hand. "Jus go. I'll put this away."

The blonde nodded, changing course and hurrying over to the steps down to where his bike was parked. He paused only once more, at the top of the staircase. "Running from things you don't want to think about never helped anyone."

The words were quiet, almost too low for me to hear and I doubted he actually wanted me to hear them at all. I watched him walk out of sight before turning my back to him, trying to ignore what he'd just said, because it was too close to home for comfort and he was a total hypocrite. I headed into the lodge as I heard his motorbike starting up. Good fucking riddance…

Oh, fuck. I slammed the coffee mug down on the window ledge and ran back outside, almost falling over the railing as I bumped into it. "Cloud! Oi, Cloud," I yelled, just before he took off down the road. The blonde looked up at me, his silver sunglasses now covering his eyes, making him look slightly alien in the heavy fog. I ran down the stairs, almost slipping down some of them in the morning dew. "Cloud, _wait_."

"I am waiting. What?" He sighed, just as I tripped over the bottom step and stumbled to my knees in the gravel in front of him. I heard the engine of the bike stop again, and all of a sudden he'd jerked me back to my feet. "Clumsy…" Cloud muttered, wiping his hand off on his pants like it was dirty suddenly, just from touching me.

Oh yeah, _that_ made me feel good about myself.

"Whatever." I hissed. "Ya can't tell anyone Vincent's here. Okay? He'd fuckin kill me."

Clearly that was _not_ the reason I couldn't have Cloud telling anyone of Vincent's whereabouts but for a moment Strife looked like he'd bought the lie.

"Right." He said uncomfortably, shifting on his feet. "Was that all?"

"Ya got ta _promise_. And I don' want anyone finding out bout… y'know."

"Like I'd tell anyone that," Cloud scoffed, kicking the dirt slightly. The action seemed a little bizarre coming from him. I could have laughed at the idea that he felt as uncomfortable as I did right now… you know, if I didn't feel so uncomfortable.

"Huh?"

"I don't sleep with straight men, Reno. Not usually." As he climbed back onto his bike, the words sunk into my head. See, Cloud knew I was straight. He _was_ using me! At least he was getting the fuck out of here now. Wait…

"Yer gay?" I questioned, as the realization hit me. Cloud looked at me like I'd grown a second head. But I was justified! He couldn't be a flamer! He'd been engaged to Tifa. Hadn't he been involved with that Aeris girl?

"Obviously." He said awkwardly, flinching slightly and turning the ignition on his bike again. I almost felt sorry for him, for being embarrassed. Cloud embarrassed was just, well… embarrassing. Didn't like it at all. "Don't tell anyone. I'll have to hurt you."

"Ya got my word fer it, Strife." I said bitterly with a coldness I didn't actually find myself feeling all that much. Instead I had to bite back the urge to tease him a little, because it would be too friendly; I felt the need to hate him, but my heart really wasn't in it. I had to put it down to how weird it felt to watch the big hero get embarrassed over his little secret, because explanation eluded me. At least I wasn't paid to think. "If ya keep yours, of course."

Of course I wasn't going to fucking tell anyone, but I didn't want him thinking that I'd allow him that without getting something in return. I dreaded the idea of anyone asking how I'd found out because Cloud hardly seemed like the type to just confess his secrets to anyone, especially not a Turk. Especially not _me_.

"I said I would. You're sure you don't need a ride?"

"Get out of here." I scoffed, only for him to roll his eyes.

"I'm gone." Cloud muttered, back wheel of his bike spinning and churning up the dirt track before he shot off down it, leaving me scowling in a cloud of dust. I dropped my neglected cigarette onto the ground and stamped my foot down on it hard to try and take out some of my frustration.

My stomach rumbled as made my way back up the steps I'd slipped down a few minutes ago. The idea of Vincent making breakfast for me suddenly didn't sound so unappealing anymore, but I'd shunned him already and he was probably too pissed off to cook. Perhaps it was worth _me _cooking in some failed attempt to apologize for whatever I'd done wrong this morning. Or rather for _everything_ I'd done this morning.

However, as I stepped inside the building the smell of breakfast wafted through the room. Vincent was already cooking; I really hadn't seen that one coming. I made my way through the various doors standing between me and the delicious smells and smiled slightly.

"What's cookin?" I asked, hanging in the doorframe and watching the ex-Turk busying himself with the food.

"Bacon, eggs, fried toast. I suppose I don't need to ask if Cloud is staying for breakfast." Vincent replied, not turning to look at me. I shrugged uncomfortably and moved into the room, standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor.

"_No_. He left already."

"You don't need to get defensive, Reno. I'm not accusing you of anything."

"I know." I sighed, moving up behind him and peering over his shoulder. "Anything I can help ya with?"

"Nothing at all…" He said, nudging me away again with his elbow. "Go sit down. Actually, you could lay the table."

"Doin' nothin sounds like more fun." I smirked, but did as he said anyway, even taking the initiative to lay two plates out on the counter beside him. "Thanks, Vincent…" I muttered, more to myself than to him but I'm sure he heard me anyway. I didn't know enough about Vincent to make presumptions, but his eyesight and his hearing seemed to be beyond average capability and I didn't doubt that his senses were probably super-enhanced or something. It wouldn't surprise me.

"You look like you needed it. Rough night?"

"Fuck you." I snickered, shoving him slightly and going to take my usual seat at the table. Everything felt like it was slipping back into whatever strange place it had been in before I'd left the evening before; I wished it would, and that everyone could just forget about what happened that night. "Shelke's a weird girl, yanno." I told him, after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Hmm?"

"Shelke. Knew all kinda shit about me I didn't think she'd know. Freaked me out."

"She used to be in Deepground. She was connected to the SND at some point… probably knows more about any of us than we'd care for her to know."

"SND?" I asked curiously. Never heard of that one before.

"Synaptic Net Dive. I don't really know that much about it myself but from what I gathered, it allowed her to connect to the worldwide network and retrieve any information she liked."

"Then why would she know about me?" I questioned, watching Vincent like he had the answers as he served the food.

"Beats me." He said, sitting opposite with his own food. I knew from spending the week with him that he wasn't actually going to eat it, he was just going to push it around his plate for a while, even though he'd told me before that he was 'hungry'. Part of me doubted that he knew the meaning of the word anymore and just used it out of habit instead. Must be weird, living in stasis for 30 years. He'd lost the ability to age, and everything. I bet that would be pretty cool, though. "Perhaps she had a crush on you."

"Pffft!" I chuckled, almost choking on my food. "Crush on me? She doesn't even know me!"

"I'm joking, Reno. You work for ShinRa. She's bound to know everything about the place, I'm sure."

"Joking? Ya don' make jokes, Vincent. I didn't know ya even knew the meaning of the word!"

"Cruel, Reno." He scoffed, actually taking a bite of the toast he'd been holding for a good five minutes. The last time I'd actually seen him eat was the first time he'd cooked for me, before we'd played cards. He'd said that cooking was a one-time thing back then but he'd cooked for just me several times after that, too. I guess he just appreciated how grateful I was for a tasty meal, or something.

"Eating too, Vincent?" I snorted, "Who are ya and what have ya done with my friend?!"

He didn't say anything, but I saw his lips curl up in a dry smirk as he tugged his cloak down so he could eat more easily. I smiled to myself slightly as I took another bite of my own meal. It was good as ever. I can't believe the man ever said he couldn't cook that well because everything he'd cooked _me_ had been really nice.

Suddenly I found myself shaken by the thought that this all seemed too comfortable. We were joking like we hadn't been standing awkwardly in the hallway with Cloud half an hour ago. Putting down my cutlery, my hands snaked down to my pocket and I pulled out another cigarette and lit up, foot tapping anxiously on the floor. I didn't like how relaxed this seemed and really felt the need to say something.

"I'm…" I said quietly, staring at the food Vincent had made me like… like a proper friend. It did occur to me that I has just _called_ him my friend a moment ago… in fact, perhaps that was what he was smirking about. "I'm not gay, ya know, Vince."

I heard him put his cutlery down, and flicked my eyes up at him briefly to find him staring past me in silence. His face was screwed up a little, like he was deep in thought, but I didn't give myself time to think about it before I looked down at my plate again.

"Why are you calling me 'Vince' all of a sudden?"

"Uhh…" Why _was_ I calling him Vince all of a sudden? I didn't usually give people nicknames, or at least not unless I wanted to piss them off. Tseng and… Cloud… fell amongst the ranks there but the only person I had a real nickname for was probably Elena and that's because she was like a little sister to me. I'd only just started calling Vincent by his first name too, which only made it weirder. "Sorry."

Well, what _else_ was I supposed to say?

He gave an awkward nod and stood up slowly, grabbing the plate of food he'd barely touched and leaving me sitting there alone. And there it was, the tension I'd been expecting to feel the whole time… I shouldn't have said anything, I guess. He started clearing up everything he'd used to cook and I was about to tell him I'd do it, only because I felt kind of bad now, although I don't know what I had to feel bad about. Probably some screwed up reason, to do with the fact him and Cloud are friends. Fucked if I know… anyway, as I opened my mouth to speak he jerked round and gave me a warning look that almost made me back away in surprise. He hadn't looked at me like that since we'd first found him back in Wutai… so I held my tongue and left the table myself. I kind of felt like there was suddenly nothing left to say.

At least I had stuff to do; I almost regretted not hitching a lift to Edge with Cloud, although sitting on that damn bike with him again would have been the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to me. I had to pick up my own bike, or at least the chopper before Rufus and Tseng returned or they'd probably _actually_ kill me on the spot. I already felt like I was in the worst trouble ever since I'd been snooping around in there their things the day before _and_ Cloud had found out about the Stigmatalime and Vincent. Suspiciously leaving the helicopter just out of Midgar when I wasn't actually supposed to leave the lodge wasn't about to get me in their good books as far as I could tell.

It meant leaving Vincent here alone again but I didn't really see what else I could do at this point… right now didn't seem like the best time to go up to him and say, 'hey buddy, I lied to you about being able to leave the lodge yesterday! Why don't we take a trip to Edge today to pick up the helicopter I left behind when I decided to sleep with your friend?' What the hell had I been thinking, telling myself white lies weren't going to come back and bite me on the ass? I'm a fucking idiot sometimes.

I grabbed my jacket and my EMR, and eventually found my keys under a pile of last night's ruined clothes – yet another shirt to throw away – and headed down towards the parking garage. To make matters worse I didn't really have any other option now but to 'borrow' Tseng's bike so I could get to the chopper. He wouldn't find out, unless I was so unlucky that he and Rufus returned today, whilst I was out, especially since it was only going to take me an hour or so to get there and back. What else was I supposed to do, _walk _to Edge? Pffft.

Before I worked for the Turks, I'd become something of a master at hotwiring vehicles, which came in handy because Tseng wasn't the type to simply leave his shit lying around, especially something as precious as the keys to his bike. I could spend all day ransacking his room looking for them and for all I knew, he'd taken them with him anyway. On my knees, covered in engine grease is not really the way I wanted this god awful morning to carry on but that's where I found myself, chewing a cigarette butt to death because I _was_ smart enough to know lighting it here was likely to blow the damn place up. Try explaining that one to the boss.

Just as planned, the engine hissed and rumbled and the motor started, which left me hoping that perhaps the day was looking up for me at last. As I finally did up the buttons of my shirt, I considered telling Vincent where I was going, but then thought better of it. It's not like he was my damn housewife or something… and he'd shunned me that morning after I'd tried to… you know… raise a sensitive issue and all that bullshit. So just fuck it.

I sped off over the bridge in a trail of dust, not looking back at the lodge even once as I went. If it went up in flames that very moment then… good riddance. It would burn away my troubles.

Getting to Edge by bike wasn't as easy as it once had been, especially on Tseng's Daytona 4000, which handled completely differently to my old hunk o' junk. At least it was comfortable, like Cloud's bike… I was used to the aerial view of the area and whilst I wasn't completely lost, I had hardly been watching where to go when Cloud had driven us this way the night before. I almost took a wrong turning and headed to Kalm, purely out of habit. I spent the whole time trying to concentrate really hard on the road, to avoid thinking about anything else, but that simply led to thinking about everything I'd been trying to avoid. I fucking hate myself some days, and this stupid head of mine.

Seemed like fucking forever before the rocky outcrop came into sight where I'd hidden the chopper and for a good twenty minutes I'd thought I'd gone the wrong way and that I was gonna end up at the north coast instead. For the sake of preserving Tseng's precious bike, I stopped it a little while back and wheeled it slowly over the bumpy rocks I would have taken at full speed on my own; Shiva knows he'd have my guts out if anything ever happened to it in my care.

No visible damage to the chopper – but I had my suspicions. I just didn't leave it places for more than a day unless I absolutely had to. It was pretty well hidden but you never knew with the bastards around this area. Someone could have sabotaged the rotary blades or cut the oil supply and I'd be crashing the second I'd lifted off the ground, which didn't sound too appealing. After struggling to lift Tseng's bike into the back of the chopper all by myself – once again I'd forgotten the damn ramp – I spent a good half hour checking every possible place for signs of planted bombs or vandalism. I felt I was justified, after the leak in the oil tank on my bike in Edge the day before.

Satisfied that my baby was completely intact, I hoisted myself up into the seat and pressed the keys into the ignition. After an extensive ride on Tseng's bike, which only served to reassure me I didn't want to upgrade my own just yet, the bench in the chopper and the gearstick in my hands felt like heaven. I ran my hand over it slowly, revelling in the feel of it for just a moment.

There was still the question of my own bike, which was still parked outside Seventh Heaven, or at least I assumed so. I trusted Tifa and her avid fans to keep it from getting damaged… at least enough so that I was _not_ going to go and pick it up right now. Partly because I didn't really want to be parking a ShinRa helicopter suspiciously on the freeway outside Edge, which I hadn't done since the incident with the remnants and that had ended with several explosions, fireworks, and one angry Reeve Tuesti, since we'd blown up his unfinished road… partly because I didn't want to run into Cloud again. Yeah, I'm a total chicken when it comes to some things, but it can't be helped. I checked my watch with a frown, suddenly finding myself less anxious about getting back to the lodge and spending more time cooped up with Vincent. Well, there was the construction site to check out. Actually, that didn't sound too bad an idea.

I fired up the engines, checking how much oil was in the tank and listening to the smooth sound of the blades spinning, like daggers slicing though the air endlessly. It was a really comforting sound.

As I took off, I did something I haven't done in a long, long time – turned the radio on in the chopper. I don't know why I never do it, possibly because the radio is supposed to stand solely as a service instrument for work, but a little music is always helpful for clearing your head and blocking out your thoughts. Although, tuning a radio whilst you're flying a helicopter is hardly the easiest thing to do, mainly because flying a helicopter requires precise skill and concentration on three separate movements of your wrist at the same time, plus two foot pedals and fifteen different essential dials. Still, whilst I may not have attempted to tune the chopper radio into the local Midgar radio stations in several years, I'd been flying the chopper for almost ten years, and came out of the academy as the best damn pilot they'd seen in years, which is why it's always me flying it for the others. I rested one of the gears against my knee and held it steady with my elbow as I fiddled with the dials on the stereo, picking up various broken signals and annoying pop songs before I found something vaguely bearable. I guess one of the reasons I never use the radio has got to be because music is so damn _terrible_ these days.

When I was still living in Sector 7, I spent a lot of my free time hanging about with a rough gang of guys, getting wankered and listening to street punk. I never really knew much about them; I was probably around fourteen back then, maybe younger but those couple of years are all like a smear in my memory because of the drinking and the drugs. They were much older than me, ten or possibly even fifteen years older, and they all went by these tough-nut nicknames and never told me their real names. I didn't care, though. They were kind of like brothers to me for a little while… sick fucking drug-dealing brothers, the kind the family disowns, but it's all the same to me.

It's funny that Cloud would assume I was an addict, for whatever reason he had done so, because I was for about a year. Makodeine was a pretty cheap drug back then. It's a combination of the mako residue that leaks out of reactors and opium, which is pretty widespread around Midgar – fields and fields of opium flowers grow to the west. In fact, I think it was even extractable from the flowers the Aeris girl used to sell. It's just natural latex from the sap. The whole lot is dried and powderized to make the drug, and it mixes well in drinks. It's less widespread now, with the reactors being made safer by the W.R.O and ShinRa not selling mako how it once had. Anyway, the guys I called friends would give it to me, enough to knock me senseless. I was never properly hooked, because when it came to getting off the stuff when I joined ShinRa, I found it pretty easy. I'd always wake up pretty well cared for after a trip, anyway, which is probably why I kept taking it for so long, because I only twice had a bad experience. One of them was the last trip I ever did with the gang. In the end it all fucked up pretty badly, but I don't like to talk about it anymore. They're dead, now.

I was pretty curious that Cloud was hinting to addiction being what causes my problem with Cure materia… but I didn't want to be thinking about Cloud. I _was_ talking about music. And on that subject, the music on the radio crackled again and started to die again as I flew closer to the cliff side where the alleged construction site was for the new ShinRa building.

'_Meryl, what's your position?'_

The radio sprang back to life again with a jittered voice that didn't sound much like an FM show. I arched a brow curiously, upping the volume and watching the lifeless thing out of the corner of my eye like it was about to jump up and run away. I hadn't picked up a stray signal in a long time… perhaps I should start turning the radio on more often.

'_64 degrees south of point F, boss. Bottom of the scaffold.'_

"What we got here?" I asked out loud to no one in particular. The quiet, determined voice had peaked my interest. Of course there was plenty of scaffold around Midgar with the construction the WRO had going, but it did sound slightly… suspicious. With just a moment's hesitation, I flicked the switch for the tracking system, trying to align it with the radio signal. It wasn't picking it up.

'_Good work, Johnson. I'm still waiting for Simmons. If you receive no further contact, move out in five.'_

The deep voice was getting quieter. I cursed under my breath, taking my hands of the gearstick again to flick a switch on the passenger's side that would turn on the radar, keeping the chopper steady with the pedals. This sounded a little _too_ suspicious. I know I wasn't on a job, but the Turk in me was kicking in instinctively and I didn't want to lose the signal now.

'_But sir, the explosives…'_

'_Did you not lay the satchel you were carrying?'_

The voices were getting weaker and harder to hear. I hit the dashboard in frustration, not so silently cursing our outdated technology – living in seclusion for three years hadn't left the… 'investigation department'… with the best gadgets out there. That might have been about to change though, if some shit was about to go down.

"C'mon!" I yelled at the radio, hearing a sharp hiss whilst something completely inaudible was said. The radar took too fucking long to boot up and my temper was pretty short when it came to technology.

'_Good job, Simmons. Rendezvous in twenty at...'_

That was it. I'd lost it completely and since this was obviously _not_ some simple banter between co-workers, I was pretty pissed off with myself. I could see what was obviously a massive fucking construction site just a few miles ahead too – I had no doubt that it was the new ShinRa tower, if only from the sheer size of it up the mountain.

The radar bleeped on, but the signal was gone.

Motherfuck…

'_Seven at the south east point. That's the last of 'em. I'm moving in!'_

And there it was. Our _glorious_ technology picked it up out of nowhere and now it was transmitting directly through the tracking system. Except the bad news looked like pretty bad fucking news… the map on the system was directly me straight to the building in front of me. As if I'd almost forgotten in the last few days that just a week ago it had felt like we were in big trouble, now the revelation hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. I switched the dial and had the tracker bring up an infra-red image. The technology might have been outdated but damn, it still did its job. I could see two moving life forms through the building - and if the radio transmission was anything to go by these might well have been 'Simmons' and 'Johnson' - and they showed up like fireflies in the night… I couldn't pick up weaponary on the radar, not even heavy duty bombs, but I wasn't going to take anything that I'd heard lightly, in which case, I had to assume their were at least seven sets of explosives in the building, and probably more. If the construction plans I'd seen were anything to go by, this wasn't going to bring the whole thing down but… I didn't have time to even think about that. The building was under fucking _siege_.

But what the hell was I supposed to do? I couldn't take the chopper any closer because one thing that was definitely going to put terrorists on alert was a big, whirring, in your face fucking ShinRa helicopter. I'd left my bike at 7th Heaven and I could hardly take Tseng's bike, he'd _kill_ me. Or make me pay thousands in damage. Judging by the radio transmission I'd picked up, I had about twenty minutes to get in there, disable the bombs and get the fuck out again.

Oh, screw it; I was taking Tseng's bike. I'm sure he could forgive me a few thousands in damages if I was possibly about to save ShinRa billions. I brought the chopper down carefully, despite the fact I was shaking slightly with anticipation. It might seem a little childish of me, but needless to say, I was excited. I lived off danger, and half the time, it seemed danger thrived off of me. Pulling out my PHS, I opened the back and stuck in the little wireless chip that charged off the tracker system so I could pick up the radar signal from my handset, and switched the system to run solo rather than off the choppers battery, before shutting down the engines.

In a rush and bouncing off the walls with impatience, it took me all of five minutes to get the motorbike back out of the chopper, where it normally would have taken me ten or fifteen. With the helicopter secured properly, I restarted the bike, put on my mobile headset and pulled down my goggles. I dialled Tseng's cell from my pocket as I took off towards the construction site without looking back even once.

"Reno?" Came the calm voice on the other end of the line as the dirt churned up on either side of the bike like waves off the back of boat. "I trust everything is okay-"

"Where are ya? When will you be back?"

"Close. Possibly forty minutes time. Reno, what's wrong-"

Wow, I'd cut that pretty fucking fine, hadn't I? I thought he was going to say days, or at least hours, not minutes. I'm an idiot.

"How 'bout from Midgar?" I snapped quickly, cutting him off again. I lifted a hand off the handle to readjust my headset and almost lost control of the massive bike underneath me. I swerved, cursing loudly and doubling my speed.

"An hour at least, if not more. We're coming from the other direction. Reno, where are you?"

"There's a _possible _– and don take possible lightly here – Code 8, Tseng. Can't ya be any quicker?"

I actually heard him curse. A Code 8 was a terrorist threat, and I think he gathered from the tone of my voice that I meant a severe one. We hadn't actually had to use that phrase since the days of Avalanche, because any leftover radicals we had trying to douse ShinRa's ashes now were pretty damn easy to put out themselves. And to think, if I hadn't taken the damn initiative to investigate the president's private stuff, we wouldn't even have known. "We can try. Where? At the lodge?" He asked, clearly trying to keep his voice calm although I could hear the sharp intakes of breath he was taking even over the motorbikes roaring engine. "What level?"

"No. I think I can deal with it alone. I need ya ta call Valentine, though – I know ya got his number," I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep the dust in the air from invading my mouth, as I slowed the bike down to move in more stealthily. "And find out if the lodge is safe. And put the boss on."

"You're not with Vincent? Where _are_ you, Reno?"

"No, he's still in the lodge. I'm at the construction site." I hissed, pretty much accepting now that this threat had totally blown my cover for _everything_. "Long story. Will explain later. _Put the fucking boss on_."

"Don't speak to me like-"

"Do it, Tseng! Fer fucks sake, I've got like fifteen minutes left to save this fucking expensive investment of Rufus', that none of ya would even fuckin tell me was there! Ya got some fuckin explaining ta do after I drag yer sorry asses out of this mess."

"Hello to you too, Reno." Came the slightly amused voice from the other end.

Ah, fuck. He'd already put the President on. Bastard probably waited until he heard me yelling down the phone to pass it over just to get me in more trouble than I was undoubtedly already. For what? Lets see… breaking in to both Rufus and Tseng's private files, leaving Vincent alone in the lodge while I went to Edge to get completely smashed, giving away two of our biggest secrets and… stealing Tseng's motorbike. Yeah, I was in trouble. I really didn't need this…

But I was in a very, _very_ testy mood. I had eight bombs to diffuse in oh, what, ten fucking minutes now? Fan-fucking-tastic. I skidded to a stop, almost losing control and probably burning the bottom of my boot off in the gravel, but I hardly had the time to think about that. Perhaps if Tseng and Rufus hadn't been such utter bastards lately and kept me in the dark about every little thing, I wouldn't be so strapped for time.

Yeah, I was fucking pissed.

"Don 'hello to you too' me, _boss_," I hissed, losing my temper towards him in a way I don't ever remember doing before, except I felt really fucking justified right now. Even if I had just gone naught to pissed off in 2.0 seconds. "What's all this shit about the ShinRa tower? Don' even _try_ and pretend ya don' know what I'm talkin bout cause I'm standing right in front of it the very fuckin second, and oh, did I forget to mention? It's smothered in heavy duty explosives!"

"Calm down, Reno. Have you been drinking?"

"No, I have not been fucking drinking!" I snorted, sighing into my hand as I massaged my temples. "Sorry, sir. I'm really fuckin stressed… look, yer all safe right?"

The other end of the line was silent for a moment as I wheeled the Daytona backwards, lining it up like a rifle with the loose scaffold beam in front of me. Oh yeah, this little stunt was probably going to wreck the bike irreparably, not to mention draw everyone's attention to me but I couldn't think of any quicker way to get inside. I was doing it for the rest of the Turks anyway, and Rufus. And hey, I've said it before, but I'd still give my life for this job, because this job _was_ my life. I have my work and the people I work with, my friends – no, my family, the only family I'd ever have - and I haven't got much else.

"…We're all safe, Reno." Rufus said quietly, and I could almost picture the small, regretful smile he'd have on his face as he spoke, because I'd seen it a million times before. It was one of the real signs he was actually growing older, despite the jokes I'd make about him and falling asleep in his chair and stuff. The guy was pretty much still a kid. Fuck, he was 24. Younger than me. It's just that I knew him well enough to know he was changing, _really_ changing and I think he was finding his stone cold, emotionless resolve slowly melting since the five of us had been living together in the lodge, with just ourselves and each other for company. I think it scared him too, because for as long as I've known him he's always been an arrogant, self-assured bastard and now he has these random power binges, like when he'd grabbed hold of my hair in the kitchen, almost like he's trying to convince himself that's still all he cares about.

For fucks sake, I had bombs to defuse. I could save the deep, philosophical thoughts for some less dangerous time. "Good. Get back ta the lodge, I should be able ta clear this up pretty fast. Ya precious investment is safe in my hands, sir!" I was aware I was coming off more confident than I felt, but sometimes it's better to try and be more than you can and die trying than to run away with your tail between your legs. Those were the closest moments I'd ever get to being a hero, I guess, so I took whatever I could. "Gotta get a move on, bossman, so I'm out. Make sure Tseng calls Valentine."

I hung up before anyone would get another chance to talk with me and turned my eyes to the task ahead, revving the powerful 4000 engine hard before I shot off up the scaffold into the towering reinforced structure.

Yep, I was gonna be a hero, or die trying, just this once. For my family.

For the brief seconds I was flying over the gaping gap between the loose scaffold I'd driven up and the building in front of me, I felt alive. I felt truly alive, veins pulsing with adrenalin, head throbbing with anticipation and there was no fear in that moment about falling or failing and being blown apart until there was nothing left of me but bloody pieces. There was just me, and the air, and that motorbike and all the time in the world. I glanced at the ground 30-odd feet below me and I could have laughed. This is what I fucking love about my job. Feeling so _alive_ in a way nothing else could ever match. Because you feel the most alive when you're doing things that might kill you, it's just a fact of life. And being a Turk is more than a matter of what might kill you, it's dealing with what _will_ kill you if you're not fast enough, not fearless enough, not ready. And it's all worth it. I think I realized in that moment that no matter how much anyone else screwed me over, or pissed me off, or drove me to the brink of insanity I would never stop doing what I do because after feeling that rush, I doubt I'd ever be content doing something else. And if you can't be content with your own life, what's the fucking point of living?

The problem is, when it comes down to it, a few brief seconds is only that – seconds. And so seconds later I was throwing my arm up in front of my face and shielding my eyes as the motorbike exploded through the glass window in front of me, shattering it like a cannonball, splinters flying every which way and cutting my clothing and my arm and my cheek. The front wheel of the bike hit a wall and the whole thing span, sending me flying off to the right and skidding down the concrete floor. And all I could do was laugh, because I'd just pulled the most ridiculous stunt and I was still alive.

Honestly I hadn't tried anything that risky in years. When you've worked closely with the same group of people for the better part of your life, you think and act like a team even without discussing it. We'd move as one, stealthy, quick, organized and successful. There'd be no death-defying falls from cliffs or scaling buildings as long as there was a safer way to do it, despite what people thought about Turks. With just four of us left, Tseng hardly wanted to risk losing anyone. Of course, I had my moments, where I'd break our unspoken conduct and I would get scolded like a child sometimes but nothing as crazy driving a heavy motorbike up a loose, spindly piece of scaffolding that was – by chance – balancing over a pile of debris in just the right position to send me flying through a window into a narrow hallway four floors up an unstable sky scraper. Of course, I couldn't have known the hallway would be that damn narrow and that I'd smash into the wall but it's hardly like I was expecting to go plunging into a massive assembly hall filled with soft mattresses. I lay on the floor laughing, as I realized just how many things could have fucked up just then. There was no saying that scaffold wasn't just going to slide or collapse under the weight of the bike, or that I'd make the gap, or that the glass wasn't bullet-proof – I have no idea why it wasn't reinforced but I was grateful – but none of that had happened. I felt slightly crazed as the rush faded, lying slumped on the floor where the bike had catapulted me and still laughing. Lucky Strife, I'm sure he gets to do stuff that crazy all the fucking time. No wonder he does it.

The bleep of the tracker on my PHS brought me back to reality. I'd probably been lying on the ground now for all of a minute but that was still a minute less to stop these damn bombs going off. I frowned, sitting up with a slight hiss of pain – being slammed against a concrete floor will do that to your back – and looking around for something remotely bomb-like. There was nothing obvious I could see but I could hear the faint bleeping of a transmitter that wasn't coming from my PHS. I turned back to the tracker, fiddling with it and, zooming in on my position so it could pick up the other transmitter. It was almost right on top of me, but that meant I was sitting on it or it was…

…On the fucking ceiling. Clever fucks. At least I knew I was dealing with someone who knew what they were doing, or at least someone very smart, because the bomb was placed in the crease where the wall touched the ceiling, which would enhance the effect the resulting explosion would have on the whole structure. They were looking to bring the building down.

My main problem was that the ceilings were damn high. The idea that whoever was planting the bombs was either a good 7-foot tall, or carrying around a ladder made me snort with laughter, but that wasn't going to help me rip the damn thing down.

After a brief moments thought, I wheeled Tseng's bike over to the bomb, trying not to look at any damage I'd caused and still ignoring the cuts on my face and arms. I stood it upright on it's stand and slowly climbed up onto the seat so I was standing on the bike. It wobbled beneath me and I could see this ending badly, but I had to get the bomb down.

Luckily for me, it tore down pretty easily once I'd gotten a grip on it. Unluckily, I lost my balance as I ripped it down, falling backwards and landing ungracefully on the concrete again. Didn't matter though, because I had the damn thing and I just might be able to save the stupid tower after all if I could figure out what kind of explosives they were. With a groan, I shifted until I was sitting cross-legged on the floor and placed the small bomb on my lap. It really was out-of-date technology, and I'd dismantled it in about forty-five seconds.

I broke open one of the shells and sniffed it, and then grinned like a maniac. I hadn't expected them to use Torpex but it really did make my life easier right now… although there was every possibility that I'd be dead already if they'd used something more advanced because Torpex was only a secondary explosive and wasn't impact sensitive. It's normally only used in critical applications, like submarine torpedoes, never in minor bombs like this but that's not to say I wasn't grateful. It's a composite of composition B, trinitrotoluene – that's TNT to you people – and powdered aluminium and that meant I could disengage it with a simple charge from my EMR, which I stood up and did immediately. The powder sparked and died quicker that it would have killed me if it had blown.

The bad news was, that was only one of god knows how many separate bombs and whilst I could possibly disengage some of them now I'd picked up the signal from their transmitter, finding and getting to all of them in the remaining seven minutes I had before mysterious terrorist 'Johnson' rendezvoused with the man I was assuming was the boss. And I didn't even know if the bombs would blow before or after that time. I could only assume the two things would coincide. Luckily, composition B contains cyclonite, which requires a detonator. Seemed like I had two options – diffuse the remaining five bombs on the lower levels and accept that the top of the building was going to be blown to pieces, or go after the terrorists and hope I could stop the detonation. Like I said, a Turk has to be the best of the best, and I was not let that building go down. 'There was nothing else I could do' wouldn't cut it. I checked the PHS again and saw the closer of the two life forms on the tracker was only two floors above me and heading in my direction. Second option it was, then. I just had to pray said terrorist had the detonator.

I stowed the tracker and my EMR and got back on the bike. The damage looked minor, anyway, besides a massive dent in the front panel. The engine still roared to life, revved like an angel and spun the wheels and that was good enough for me. I sped off down the hallway towards the signal.

If you've never driven a motorbike up a concrete staircase before, let me tell you, it's not fun. You've got to drive at full speed, hold on tight and prepare for a bumpy fucking ride… but that's what I did. Faster than walking, and time really wasn't on my side right now. I bumped and skidded and revved my way up four separate staircases and three narrow landings until I was on the floor the signal had indicated. I hardly had to look closely to find what I was hoping for. A man, clad in black and carrying a hoard of empty bags was walking towards me slowly with his head down. Seemed a little bizarre for a man walking through an unsteady building filled with bombs, but he was as real as the gloves on my hands. I revved my engines and snarled cruelly, smirking at him as he looked up. He stopped in his tracks and stared for a moment, and when I didn't make any attempt to move, looked around himself, before turning to run.

I didn't blame him – if I was him, and I'd just spotted a crazy red-head on a motorbike six floors up a construction site, growling like a predator at me, I'd run too. I cackled anyway and sped after him. No man can outrun a Daytona 4000, even one that's recently been driven into a wall.

Except he ducked through a doorway to the side I couldn't get through on the bike. I hit the brake, spinning the thing 90 degrees and seconds later I was pouncing off the handlebars at him like a wild cat, catching the back of his jacket and flinging him across the room into the wall as I hit the floor. I rolled into a crouch and locked onto him, drawing my pistol instantly. I wasn't taking any chances with this guy.

The man scrambled to get up but I'm known for my speed – by the time he was on his feet, I had him pressed against the wall and I was tearing off the scarf around his face. Fierce green eyes watched me as he struggled, and suddenly he was reaching for a weapon I hadn't spotted yet.

I swear, life would be easier if everyone just stuck to swords. I really didn't need to get shot right that moment but he was fast – too fast for my liking, almost as quick as me. He'd shot me in my left shoulder, which hardly rendered me incapable but it did knock me back though and I clenched my teeth, hissing in pain, clutching the wound as I tripped over a dust sheet. I was pretty pissed off about how many times I'd wound up on my ass on the floor already today, particularly because it wasn't exactly in great shape after last night –

Okay, I had to stop there. I was working right now. I was not going to think about last night again.

'_Simmons? Where ya at?'_

The same female voice from earlier crackled over his transceiver. His foot landed heavily on my chest where I lay, pinning me down and he pulled the transceiver from his belt and lifted it to his mouth.

"Minor inconvenience Meryl," He said, smirking at me as he spoke. "I'll be out in a minute."

'_Ya better be! We need that detonator, Simmons! I'm giving ya five minutes then I'm coming in after ya!'_

His smirk deepened and he mimicked her words at me and rolled his eyes as I glared back at him, struggling under his hold and wondering where he was hiding the detonator since apparently he was carrying it.

"I will be, Johnson, hold your horses. I'll be out in three."

'_Okay. Out.'_

I was looking over his body and at the bags he was carrying, trying to work out how big a detonator he'd need for that many secondary explosives. For all I knew it was a button on his watch or a dial code in his transceiver. I saw him clipping it back to his belt and looked up at him sharply to find him staring at me curiously.

"Who are you supposed to be then?" I said smugly, if only to let him know I wasn't afraid of him despite the fact he was standing on my chest and I was bleeding profusely out of one shoulder already.

"Where's that coming from?" he muttered, ignoring me completely and stooping down to pull my PHS out of my pocket. I was still clutching my shoulder, so I just let him. As long as he was the one with the detonator, I had all the time in the world to sort this out. Oh, how the tables turn…

He examined the bleeping PHS, turning it in his hands and still ignoring me like he hadn't even noticed he was standing on my chest. "Huh. A ShinRa tracking system… You're not here by accident then."

He looked at me again with those fierce green eyes, which may well have been hazel once if I was right and they were full of mako. "Funny story actually, I am." I snorted, smirking up at him despite the position I was in. Part of the fun of this job was taunting the enemy. "Was having a nice day to myself, then all of a sudden there's this voice coming out of the stereo and I'm thinking 'this is one terrible radio show'…"

"Shut up." He snapped, lifting his foot off me briefly and kicking my chin. As his boot pressed down on my chest again I stared at him fiercely. "Ouch, you bastard."

One of his eyebrows shot up, questioning my less than intimidated response. "You're… a Turk?" The question was calm, but he made no effort to hide the disbelief in his voice.

"Yes," I said sharply, and he frowned. "I am," I stressed, feeling slightly insulted that he'd even question it. "And I'm fucking good at what I do."

I know it was childish of me to rise up to his insult like that but I never said I wasn't immature.

"I hardly doubted that." He shrugged, chucking the PHS to the ground carelessly. I noticed he was really well-spoken, almost the way Rufus sounded, although perhaps a little more human than that. I made sure to freeze an image of him in my mind in case Tseng made me write a damn report – green eyes, possibly mako enhanced, same height and build as me, and neat, short sandy hair. Strong jawline. Very handsome, nice lips and… fuck, obviously I was losing more blood than I'd noticed. I was delirious. I cringe and writhed under him. Okay, I'd been lying there too long – it was time to show him just how good a Turk I really was.

I've said before about using any method we see fit to get the job done. So I did. I kneed him hard in the crotch, pulling my leg forwards and then kicking back again, sending him backwards into the wall behind him for the second time in five minutes. Flipping to my feet, I snatched him up again by the ankle and pounded him back into the concrete, because honestly, I was bored of it happening to me now. Really fucking bored. Then, I straddled his back and held him down with just my weight, twisting his arms underneath me.

"I recall askin ya who ya are a few minutes ago. Let me tell ya a little something." I growled, pummelling my fist into the nape of his neck and holding it there. I leant down to his ear and snarled. "I don' like being ignored."

I heard him snort into the concrete. "You're really a Turk? You sound too dirty to be with ShinRa."

"Ya got a problem with my accent?" I sneered, pressing my fist down harder.

"No. You can't help where you were born." He replied, trying to turn his head a little more and look at me. I faltered slightly, because that sounded a little too compassionate to be a terrorist. Then again, he sounded a little more posh than most of the terrorists we'd dealt with in the past.

Damn bastard took advantage of the fact he'd shocked me slightly and slid one of his arms free – I'd even go as far as to say he planned it – but I ground the heel of my boots into his wrist before he could reach for anything to use as a weapon.

"I have four questions." I said, ignoring the last thing he said and moving my hand into his short hair so I could yank his head around. It was almost painful watching him try to do it himself. He peered up at me out of one green eye and narrowed his brows.

"And they are?"

I was honestly surprised, again, that he seemed so unconcerned that I pinning him to the ground, demanding answers and pummelling his neck. But I was a quick learner, and I was not going to let him stun me again.

"Who are ya, who do ya work for…" I said slowly, forcing eye contact. He just lay there, unstruggling. "…why are ya tryin ta blow this place up… and where are ya hiding the detonator?"

Before he got a chance to answer any of my questions his transceiver crackled again.

'_Andrew, where are ya? It's been five minutes!'_

I snorted and reached down towards his belt for it. "Three questions then, Andrew Simmons."

"Give me the transceiver." He said calmly as I unclipped it.

"Why in hell would I do that?" I asked, rolling my eyes, safe in the knowledge he'd only call for back up.

"If I don't answer her, she'll come looking for me and you'll be out numbered."

This time I really did laugh, slapping him casually on the back and staring him in the eye with a smirk as I threw the transceiver across the room. "Ya say that like a bad thing. Answer the fuckin questions, big shot."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." He said smugly, and I felt him writhe underneath me slightly for the first time. I growled in frustration and picked up my gun, which he'd knocked out of my hand when he shot me. Cocking it again, I pressed it against the back of his head.

"Well, I asked nicely once… ya'd think after 25 years I'd have learnt that gets ya nowhere in life, huh? Now I'm gonna ask one more time. Answer the questions, _Andy_."

He shook his head best he could, and I narrowed my eyes at him as he writhed a bit more; seems like pretty boy was getting nervous now he had a gun pointing at the back of his skull. That's the way it should be.

Then I caught sight of something glinting around his neck. I dragged the gun down his neck and nudged away the collar of his jacket with it to find a chain there. With my right hand, the left still pressing a gun against his neck, which was feeling pretty weak now from the blood loss, I pulled on the chain and suddenly he tensed beneath me. "Oh?" I asked, although it wasn't really a question, I was just noting his reaction. His _strange_ reaction. "What's this then? Something precious ta you?"

"Let go of it." Simmons hissed, his voice a lot darker and more savage suddenly. The change almost made me jump. He'd sounded so calm and unwavered before.

"Lemme think about that." I smirked, smacking the butt of my gun into the back of his skull, almost hard enough to knock him out. "No. Not until ya tell me what I need ta know."

He was silent for a moment and I tightened my grip on both the necklace and my gun in case he was planning something suddenly. "The…" he said slowly, almost nervously. "…detonator is in the bag under your left leg. It's on a timer. If I don't detonate it in the next five minutes it's going to trigger automatically."

He had my attention. I let go of the necklace, knowing this information, true or not was presently more important than taunting him about family heirlooms or whatever that necklace was. The other answers could wait too.

Tugging the bag out from under my leg, I found he actually wasn't calling my bluff. I hadn't actually doubted him because if I were him, I'd be worried about getting blown up myself.

The detonator was a switchboard, simple but slow to deactivate. Hopefully with help from the man trapped beneath me, I could do it quicker but normally it was Rude who dealt with detonator, because he was our resident bomb expert. There were sixteen switches but I had no idea which ones were active. I could simply deactivate all of them but it might take too long. "Oi, Simmons." I sneered, kicking the back of his head lightly. "Which switches do I need ta dismantle?" I turned the detonator over removing the back to examine the wires inside.

"That wasn't one of the questions."

"Don' get sarcastic with me, fucker. We're gonna get blown up here." I snapped, kicking him again.

"So?"

"Ya don' care? Fuck. Okay, so _I'm_ gonna get blown up here, and destroying the building is one thing… but killing a Turk? Whoever ya work for will be in real deep shit then, buddy. My comrades won't stop 'til their heads are bleeding on our mantle."

I was exaggerating a little but I was slightly panicked. I diffused the first switch, still completely unaware if I'd managed anything in doing that, and moved straight onto the second, still pressing my foot into the back of Simmons' head. I'd have to try something else to get him to talk.

"So that necklace huh? Whys it so special that ya'd tell me bout the detonator? 'Cause obviously ya don' care bout being blown up." He tensed again. So the enemy had a weak spot. I smirked down at my work and set it down on his back. "Maybe I'll take it off ya hands? Don' worry, it'll be cared for real good after I kill ya."

As I spoke, I grabbed the chain again and pulled on it, pretending I was trying to break it. He struggled underneath me again and I laughed. "Sounds like a good idea ta me!"

"Wait!" He yelped, thrashing more and almost knocking me off his back. "The final switch on the board is a master switch. Diffuse that and all the bombs deactivate."

"Is that right? I don' believe ya." I said, believing him in the absolute. This necklace must have been fucking precious to him to get that kind of reaction out of him. "So is this a family heirloom? Or from a _lover_?" I teased, smirking as I started to lift it over his head. "Meryl wasn't it? Is she ya lover, Andy?"

"_No_," He yelled, the best he could pressed against the concrete. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to shake his head. "Believe me, the master switch…"

"Okay, okay…" I laughed, in full belief that I'd hit the nail on the head. It seemed a little extreme to panic that hard over a gift, though. I let go of the chain again and worked on diffusing the last switch, partly because if he hadn't lied about the bombs going off in five, we were practically out of time.

As I desecrated the last wire, Simmons bucked underneath me and threw me off of him, rolling out the way. I landed awkwardly on my shoulder and cried out loudly, dropping my gun again so I could grip it, try and squeeze the pain away. I was aware of the sound of a gun being cocked behind me and shuffled up onto my knees, jumping to my feet in one awkward, ungraceful movement and spinning to face Simmons.

"Ya gonna shoot me, Andy? I wouldn't do that if I were in yer position."

"What do you mean?" He said darkly, free hand fondling the necklace that still hung around his neck. Most of it was still hidden under his top.

"If ya kill me, ya destroy all the evidence!"

"What?"

I smirked. He had no idea what I was rambling about. _I _had no idea what I was rambling about either, but it was buying me time. "Evidence of what?" he asked again, staring at me, his eyes as demanding as his voice. "What evidence, Turk?"

"The evidence that you…" I said slowly, sliding my hand around to the back of my belt and closing my fingers around the handle of my mag-rod, "helped me diffuse the detonator, perhaps?"

His eyes widened slightly, as I used his shock against him the same way he'd done to me earlier, taking my millisecond advantage to whip out the EMR and blast him with a bolt of electricity. He tried to dodge it, ducking down but the nearest metal object was the handgun he was holding and sparks shot through it and right up his arm. "Fuck!" He cursed, glaring wildly at me from where he'd fallen again to the floor and sliding himself further away from me.

"Yer not jus gonna retreat are ya? Scaredy-cat!" I smirked, feeling safe now that the bombs were permanently disengaged.

"No." He said coldly, raising his gun at me again and pulling the trigger, his arm still shaking from the shock. I ducked much like he had and rolled out the way, the bullet firing off down the room, and grabbed my own pistol quick enough to fire as I landed on my feet. He howled in pain as the bullet struck him in the chest and shot again blindly.

This time I wasn't fast enough. I said before, I wish people would stick to sword-fighting. I was a little out of practice at dodging bullets and he got me right in the side as I ducked again.

When I next found my feet, perhaps a minute later, he was writhing around and trying to pull the bullet out of his chest with his bare hands. I winced in pain and stood over him, crushing the hand he was trying to pull the bullet out with under my foot and considering whether to give him another few wounds in other not quite lethal places, so he'd bleed to death slowly and suffer. Then I remembered what he'd said when I'd first pinned him down, about not being able to help where you're born. It was pretty hard to find people that unjudgemental back in the Slums… and even now. He seemed like the kind of guy I would have gotten along with, too, given a chance. I shrugged awkwardly to myself and looked down at him, to find his green eyes staring back. I don't know what was wrong with me but I decided he didn't deserve to suffer and just blew his brains out instead.

He was still a terrorist, after all.

'_Andrew, what happened? The bombs haven't blown! Are ya alright?'_

I picked up the transceiver and sighed through the pain in my shoulder and my side. Holding down the button, I took a deep breath, more for the pain than anything else. "Yer comrade is dead. Yer attack has been intercepted, and soon, you will be destroyed," I said darkly. "Better start running."

I let go of the button and turned the transceiver over in my hand. A perfect thing to do after a statement like that would be to drop the damn thing to the ground and crush it with my foot but there was every possibility Tseng would want it for something so with a sigh, I clipped it to my own belt. What I said wasn't entirely necessary but I was hoping it would give me a danger-free route out of the building, at least.

I limped over to where the PHS lay on the floor and stooped with an unexpected cry of pain to pick it up. I had to steady myself with a hand against the floor to keep from collapsing and I sighed again. I sighed far too often lately. Made me feel I was getting old too, like Rufus.

My headset had broken when I'd been thrown from the motorbike as I'd burst into the building so I was grateful the PHS still worked. I was about to speed dial Tseng when I stopped, finger hovering over the buttons and thought for a moment. I felt the urge to call Vincent suddenly, to see if the lodge was alright, perhaps because through all the stress of that morning it had finally occurred to me that it was only yesterday that I'd declared us friends. And he'd done the same... Perhaps he was worried about me.

Or perhaps not, I told myself, remembering our conversation at breakfast. I didn't have his cell number anyway and I doubted he'd pick up the phone in the lodge if it rang. I pressed the speed dial for Tseng and brought the PHS to my ear.

"Reno."

The calm, firm voice of my superior swept away some of the anger I hardly realized I was holding on to. I don't know what made me angry. Maybe Andrew Simmons. Maybe this whole terrorist thing, or getting shot, or Cloud this morning.

Or perhaps everything. But I still felt slightly better, certain about something just hearing the voice of someone I knew well. Certain about myself and my job or something.

"Sir." I replied quietly, not as brightly as I felt. Didn't fancy let the boss know I was happy to be working, he'd find a way to use it against me.

"We're almost at the lodge now. Ten minutes maximum." I nodded silently, although I knew he couldn't hear me. "What's your status?"

"Prevented the attack and taken down one of the terrorists, although he wouldn't tell me who he worked fer…" Or rather, I forgot to find out. Perhaps I should have kept him alive a little longer.

"Made him suffer, I assume." Tseng said smugly. I gulped slightly and shook my head as I prepared myself to lie to him; I had to or he'd question how well I was feeling.

"Ya know me too well, sir." I bullshitted, wondering what really had changed. Not that I had a problem lieing to Tseng, but my words should have been the truth. I changed the subject. "Did ya call Valentine?"

"I did, and had him check the perimeter for danger. The lodge is safe." Tseng replied calmly. "He said you were very strict on the subject of leaving him alone. Rufus isn't happy that you did, but he'll drop it at my word. I'm glad Vincent earned your trust, Reno. I know it can be difficult for you."

Besides wondering what the hell Vincent meant when he told Tseng I was strict on him, I questioned Tseng's last statement silently. I didn't really want to think about why I'd come to trust Vincent so quickly, but I had, and Tseng had a good point. I was usually a lot more wary of people than I had been. "Yeah, well, whatever. You trust 'im, so obviously I got good reason to." I dismissed the subject quickly, moving onto the matter at hand. "I got more work ta do, cause there's at least two more fuckers out there ta deal with today. Won't be back for a while."

"No," Tseng said firmly.

"No?" I repeated in confusion. "I know they're there Tseng, I heard them and I've got an infra-red visual."

"No, I mean I want you to return immediately, Reno. You've done enough."

By the tone of his voice, I realized immediately that he didn't mean I'd done too much and should take a break, so to speak, but rather that I'd fucked so royally that I had to drag my sorry, sore ass home for the whipping of my life. He wasn't wrong, and I knew not to argue. That didn't mean I wasn't _going_ to.

"Why the hell don' ya want me to neutralize the threat? I can take them, Tseng. There's only two. Shouldn't take long with the tracker, and I might even find out what they're trying at, rigging this place with explosives-"

"Get back here _now_, Reno." Tseng cut me off, gritting his teeth slightly and taking a deep breath.

"Fine. Okay. I'm on my way." I scowled, switching off the PHS. I clipped it to my belt beside Simmons' transceiver and glanced at his body. Blood leaked out from the exit wound in his skull across the floor, and his crushed hand was tensed at his side even now he was dead. I frowned, approaching the body and crouching beside it. Simmons' couldn't have been much older than me by the look of him. His green eyes were still wide open from the shock of the bullet impacting with his skull. Tentatively I reached out and closed his eyes, wondering how a guy like him got involved in terrorism. It wasn't good of me to think about it, but I _was_ having a pretty rubbish day and it just bothered me slightly. I could have just as easily gotten into terrorism as I did into ShinRa back when I was young. Probably easier, and I almost did. That could have been me.

On the brink of refusing to care anymore, I caught another glance of the necklace he had on and decided without hesitation to take it. Unhooking it from around his neck, I didn't even glance at it properly before I'd stuffed it into my pocket and left the room without looking back. I didn't like it when things like that bothered me. It was unnerving.

If you've never noticed, sometimes when you try not to think about something, it's the only thing you can think about at all. As I wheeled Tseng's bike down the staircase and looked for a way out that was a little less dangerous than my way in, especially since I was really starting to feel the effect of the blood loss from my bullet wounds, I couldn't get Andrew Simmons out of my mind. Not properly, at least. Not even when I got out of the building, not even as I drove across the stark land towards where the chopper was, not even properly as I noticed that the chopper _wasn't_ where it should have been. In fact, as I started to see spots and the bike fell away beneath me, I was thinking that somehow it was his fault. But then, for no comprehensible reason, as I hit the solid, dirty ground beneath me, my last thoughts were of Cloud.


	9. Chapter 9

**Warnings: the same as always.**

Sorry it's a few days late!

9--

Some things in life are completely unfair. I'm not talking about poverty or children dying or how you can make your way up through society until you're sitting on a pedestal beside the President and no one can hurt you - although, the 'no one can hurt you' part never seems to apply to me, I've noticed – but as long as you were born dirty, you'll always stay fucking dirty as sin in the eyes of everyone else; those things aren't exactly great, obviously, but it's the little things that really piss me off. I can imagine it's like that feeling you get when you're always picked last in class; not that I'd know, because I never really went to school, but I imagine it's comparable. Things like running out of cigarettes when you're stressed as hell trying to pick a seven pin lock or being banned from your favourite bar over some fight some _other_ bastard started just because of your uniform. It's those sorts of things that really get to me …like waking up to the one person you didn't want to see, two days in a row.

"Urghh, gods… tell me we didn't."

"What are you mumbling about?" Cloud scowled, and something cold was pressed against my forehead but I couldn't really work out what. I let my eyes focus as properly as they could on the man in front of me. The fact that he was fully clothed really did little to comfort me, seeing as I could tell that I wasn't. In fact, I could see my shirt and jacket slumped at the end of the bed.

"Why ya in m'room?" I groaned, trying to bat him away with my left hand only to be greeted with the intense pain of flesh tearing from flesh around my shoulder.

"Stupid…" He muttered, and there was a strong hand on my elbow, holding my arm down. Cloud cleared his throat slightly and looked right at me. "We're not in your room, we're in mine. And you're hurt, so stop moving."

The note of finality in his voice made it sound as if he thought that was enough of an explanation to get me to shut up. We might not have been friends, but surely he knew me well enough to know it wasn't. I frowned, glancing around through blurry eyes, and realized that he was right; not that I'd ever been in Cloud's room before, but this was definitely not mine. "Why we here?" I asked suspiciously. He might have been dressed, but that meant nothing. Last thing I could remember properly was him leaving the lodge the day before – was it the day before? – And so waking up in Cloud's bed was hardly on the agenda. Careful not to put pressure on my left arm, I propelled myself upright, ignoring Cloud's protests. I didn't know why I was here, but I'd be damned if I was staying even a minute longer.

"Lay down Reno. You've lost a lot of blood."

"What did you do?" I snapped, sobering from my sleepy and deranged state instantly. I screwed up my face in disgust at thoughts of all the ways Cloud could have made me bleed; that pain in my shoulder was a little too _precise_ to be a sword wound.

"I did _nothing_." Cloud sighed. I stared at him sceptically, his own expression a mask of apathy.

"You must have been shot, I think. You don't remember?" He asked eventually, shaking his head. He went to press the cold cloth to my forehead again but I turned away from his hand, not really feeling like letting him baby me right now. I tried to sit up again, only to have Cloud try to push me back down into the bed. "You're going to be weak for a while. I didn't want to use, uh… materia."

I struggled against him, pissed off at everything; the fact I was injured, that I couldn't remember, that Cloud was taking care of me, and that he'd had to go and bring _that_ up. Shoving Cloud back hard with my right hand so he fell away slightly, ignoring the pain in my ribcage, I glared at him. "No, because then ya'd have ta _fuck_ me again, huh?"

He glared right back this time, like I'd done something wrong; whatever the hell was going on in his warped little mind, I didn't know and really didn't care to. I dropped my eyes to the bed again. The long moment of angry silence was just more than I could be bothered to deal with right then. With more effort than it was probably worth, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and reached for my clothes. At least I still had my fucking trousers on.

As I stood up I could feel myself starting to wobble, my legs weak with something I could easily recognize as excess blood loss from the number of times I'd felt it in the past, and almost dropped to my knees, save for his strong arm wrapping around my waist and steadying me. Okay, so the bastard was right about the extent of my injuries, but I just hated it when he did that – always catching me and looking after me like I couldn't take care of myself. Had taken care of myself for 15 odd years, thank you very much, and I was just fine. Taken care of him before, too. Oh gods, I hope he didn't think this was him paying me back for having to haul his sorry ass back from the flower girl's church that time. Not that I didn't deserve pay back but I hardly wanted him to return the favour, especially after what had just happened the night before. I've said it before, but I'll say it a hundred times more, I'm sure. _Bastard_.

"Where are you going?" He asked firmly as I shoved his arm off again.

"Why, gonna miss me?" I retaliated venomously, quirking an eyebrow in challenge. He frowned and shook his head slowly, and then his hand was on my hip, pushing me back towards the bed, contradicting his own words like he always did. I flinched at his touch and pulled away, climbing back onto the bed and telling myself it was just for my own good and not that I felt violated when he touched me.

"You're not in any state to go anywhere by yourself…" Cloud said firmly. I rolled my eyes. I'd heard that line plenty of times in my twenty-five years and ignored it just as many. There was no such thing as an unfit state for a Turk; you got up, did the job, carried on. The only reason any of us would be taken out of the line of duty was because we were either unconscious, or dead. However, I really doubted Cloud was going to accept that as an excuse, so I wriggled until I was comfortable and settled with giving him cruel looks as he busied himself doing whatever the hell it was that he did.

What he did was apparently water his one dying little plant, tidy, sweep the wooden floor, straighten his desk and then disappear into the next room to shower. Some life he was leading, really. Although the room did look like it needed it. The room was full of empty delivery boxes and other bits and pieces that made it look like he hadn't been in there in years. Maybe he hadn't, he had been living in that church before after all, if I wasn't mistaken.

A knock sounded at the door. The quiet sound drew my attention instantly; it wasn't going to be Cloud, because he wasn't going to wait for my permission to enter his own damn bedroom, so after a moment's hesitation I called out. "Uh, hello?"

The door opened with no reply, and Tifa shuffled in backwards, holding a tray. "Are you decent?" She asked, without looking.

"Decent?" I repeated, looking down at myself. I had my pants on, with my shirt hanging off my shoulders. That counted as decent, by my standards, but… "Depends what ya consider decent, pretty lady…" I smirked. Tifa really was a pretty lady, I thought to myself. For the first time in a long while I decided it was a shame she was something of a friend and that Rude was interested, because otherwise I could have really gotten into her. Cloud had put my manliness in question too many times in the last day. I needed to do _something_ to assure myself… I decided, there and then, that as soon as Cloud would let me get the hell up, I'd stumble on down to the slums and find myself an easy blonde to sate myself with; or a brunette. A brunette would do fine.

Although, really, I didn't have to wait for Cloud to let me leave - I should have slipped away the second he'd stepped out to take a shower.

Tifa glanced around and rolled her eyes. "Reno…" she laughed, stepping over to me and lifting the tray slightly in offering. "I wondered how you were doing. And I brought you some soup… you should eat something."

"Doing okay, I think. If ya count okay as not knowing how the hell I got here and having ta be looked after by…" I trailed off before I'd spoken Cloud's name, a twinge of guilt suddenly shooting through me. I knew his little secret – but did Tifa? Sure, I was planning on having a little fun with it at some point with Cloud but the girl had been crazy about Cloud for years and years and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. I settled with "Thanks", as she set the tray down on my lap. "M'starving."

Tifa watched me for a moment as I dipped some of the warm bread she'd brought up into the soup. I wasn't really starving, but I'm a courteous guy. I _am_. 'Specially to Tifa, since she was such a doll to me. "You look tired," She said thoughtfully, after a moment. I shrugged slightly and looked up at her, food hovering somewhere near my mouth.

"Am a bit. Been a rough couple of weeks." I sighed, lowering my hand again. Wasn't that just the truth? Not that I actually cared, because rough weeks were what I lived for, but I wasn't going to lie to Tifa – okay, at least not about that. Since Rufus had sent us after Vincent I'd been working harder than I had in a year or so, and it was taking its toll. I'd be fine, just needed to get back into the routine.

"Mm." She nodded in agreement, and for just a moment I let myself wonder if she was feeling sympathetic or if this was a well-needed dose of empathy for her. I had no idea what was going on in her life. "Thank you for bringing Cloud home, anyway!" She joked suddenly, but you could tell the smile was slightly forced this time. I chuckled good-naturedly because I didn't want to make her feel like a moron. I guess I had helped, maybe. "I'll let you rest then. I hope you feel better soon, Reno."

With a comforting touch to my shoulder, Tifa gave me one last gentle smile and turned to leave.

"Don' worry love, I'll be out of yer hair faster than ya can say 'fat chocobo'!" I called after her as she wandered out through the open doorway. With a soft giggle, she was gone. I dropped the bread back onto the tray and sighed, pushing it aside. I wasn't hungry in the slightest. Getting injured always put me off food. Especially food that looked like that... crazy girl couldn't have been thinking right when she cooked up tomato and vegetable soup. It looked like spew. I _had_ to get out of there.

Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed again, this time with a little more care, I pulled my shirt on properly and started to button it up around the bandages around my ribs that Cloud had obviously applied. It was pretty hard with one arm almost rendered useless from the pain but I managed okay. Dressing and undressing with one hand in a quick fix was a skill I'd picked up, I'm happy to say, not _only_ from years of sexual deviance back when Turks were still respected through Midgar and girls would do anything to give you a go. Part of it had definitely been from escaping from the hospital wing of the old ShinRa building, practically a hobby of mine back-when.

I glanced at the tray again, wondering what to do with the soup, which I was supposed to have eaten. Deciding it was probably more offensive to pour it away into one of Cloud's plants than to just leave it, so I stuffed the soggy lump of bread I'd been about to eat before into my mouth to make it look like I'd at least tried it and with less effort than I'd expected, I stood up. It took me a couple of minutes to gather my things, because Cloud had taken my weapons off me. I'm sure he expected that when I woke up and realized where I was, I'd try and kill him. No such luck. I _wish_ I had.

I stumbled towards the back of the house, where I knew I'd find a rear exit because I'd had to sneak in through it a couple of times in my life. Tifa would be in the bar, I was sure of it, so there was no chance of getting out that way with any ease. I heard the shower turn off, and tried to make a run for it, praying Cloud would have the decency to dress himself before he tried to come after me, if he was planning to at all. I definitely didn't need to be seen fleeing from that house, chased by one spiky-haired hero in nothing but a towel.

Once I'd gotten away from the house I found myself wandering through the streets of Edge, a little disconcerted and... well, in pain. Being upright definitely wasn't doing it for me but as I was questioning why the hell I'd decided this was a good plan in the first place, I quickly remembered why I wanted to be the hell away from Cloud. I had a point to prove. I had my masculinity to save. Trying to get my bearings on my location, my head starting to reel in the cold air, I started towards what I hoped was the Slums when I had what I deemed to be an absolutely brilliant idea. I could buy a _potion._

As I located a shop somewhere along the empty street I was on, I questioned silently why Cloud hadn't given me one already. Maybe because they were out of potions or maybe Cloud was worried they'd have the same effect as the Cure materia – _not _true fortunately – but it was more likely that the bastard just wanted to watch me suffer. Although, part of me felt unconvinced that this was the reason. There was something I was missing but at that moment the splitting ache in my skull and my throbbing wounds were enough to convince me that it didn't matter.

"Yes?" The shopkeeper spat at me as I stumbled towards the counter, because almost everyone old enough to remember Sector 7 remembered what I did and they knew who I was from just my hair. Sometimes I just wanted to cut it all off and be done with it... Just like the bastards in the shop I'd stopped at with Cloud the night before, I could hardly say this guy was celebrating my sorry existence.

"Po – HiPotion, would ya mate?" I decided, leaning against the counter to support myself and looking absolutely a prick and not at all like a guy who had almost bled to death a little while ago. Might as well keep up appearances.

The shopkeeper was fat, and balding, and he had this grubby vest on that looked like he'd just escaped Coral prison. He'd thrown a blue button up jacket over it, not unlike the old uniform the Turk's had worn, I can only imagine to make himself look smarter, and he was looking me up and down like I was the dirty scum. I stared right back at him as he reached my face, narrowing my eyes to let him know I didn't feel like arguing over it. His eyes were a dull blue, hard and angry and I guessed I was right in my assumption about him being from Coral – he didn't look like he was born tough, just worked into it by a hard life. Maybe he'd even seen the destruction of that town... he was probably a big softy on the inside. I almost chuckled at the notion. He broke eye contact quickly and scratched at his moustache, turning around to unlock the cabinet behind the counter where they kept cigarettes and potions side by side. Kind of ironic, really.

'_Grandpa!_' came a small voice from the room behind the shop counter. I picked it up instantly; I'm sure I've mentioned that all of a Turk's senses are increased in 'special training' – a series of medical shots, basically. They send the sensory nerves in the brain into overdrive and then the Turk whose taken them has to spend two weeks in isolation to recover from the absolute shock of being able to hear and smell and freaking _taste_ every little thing. That has to be one of the most terrifying feelings in the world.

Most Turk's take their first shots in their first two or three months of employment because really, a Turk is as useless as the ShinRa grunts used to be until they can hear a gunshot a mile away. I didn't get mine for a year. I used to think it was because they were just waiting for me to get myself killed, reckless as I was, and not waste the money on me but after a while I realized it wasn't _only_ for that reason – living in the Slums had made me so aware of my surroundings that I was at least at the level most of the young Turk's are after they come out of isolation the first time.

"Someone's callin' ya," I smirked, covering the fact I was in pain with a practiced precision and only making the assumption that this scummy looking man was 'Grandpa' because of his receding hairline and general disrespect for all cleanliness.

"What?" he snapped back, glancing over his shoulder at me with a curious expression, when the voice called out again and this time he heard it too. The shopkeeper groaned, wiping his hands on his nasty corduroys and pushing open the door. "_Ex_cuse me," he huffed, voice dripping with venom and reluctance. I bobbed my eyebrows at him and pretended to examine my grubby fingernails, waiting until he'd vanished through the swinging door to let out a strangled whine of pain I'd been holding in since I'd set my eyes on the shop. It did no one any good to know that a Turk really could be in pain – no one that that knowledge could hurt anyway, and generally those were the only people I cared about.

Fumbling around in my pockets for a moment, I came to the unfortunate and quick conclusion that I didn't have any gil on me. For a moment I considered the idea that Cloud could have taken it off me when he picked me up from wherever he'd found me or that I'd missed it when I was rushing to gather my things but it did seem more likely that I actually hadn't had any in the first place. It was only supposed to be a short trip to fetch the helicopter but my curiosity had caught me by the scruff of the neck like always. At least I'd stopped the mass destruction of the new and apparently secret ShinRa base-in-the-making; my day hadn't been a complete waste.

If I wasn't feeling so light-headed and unsteady on my feet I'm sure I would have checked for cash before I'd come sauntering in, acting like I owned the joint and asking for a HiPotion I was trying to make it look like I didn't need. Perhaps I could have threatened one out of him or maybe even blagged one if I hadn't been pouring the attitude out of every pour like it was going out of style. Now I was just going to suffer, because he wasn't going to give aid to a ShinRa lackey like me at any rate, no matter how much money we were putting into the reconstruction of the fucking city in failingly discrete manner. Except...

That dumb bastard left the key in the lock of the glass cabinet. I eyed it thoughtfully, and glanced at the swinging door he'd disappeared through again; said it before but I'll say it again, if I wasn't feeling so terrible...

With a casual glance towards the shop front windows, not that I'd really care if anyone caught me at it, I checked to make sure no one could see me and shifted myself around the counter in a not-so-arrogant manner, trying my best not to injure myself anymore, and pulled open the cabinet. Keeping my senses on high alert, almost like I was carrying out a fully-fledged stealth mission, I listened out for any signs of 'Grandpa' returning and slipped a couple of potions and a HiPotion out of the cabinet. If I could be out of there quick enough and I didn't take too many, dumb bastard might even think I'd just got bored and left.

Fuck it, packet of cigarettes too while I was at it.

...And a bottle of scotch, the good stuff, because if you're gonna be stealing you might as well go the distance and take whatever the hell you feel like. Not for the first time that day, I regretted not being hungry, 'cause there were some pretty tasty looking pasties warming under the counter. Whatever. I had to make my move and get the hell out before Ol' Gramps caught me at it. Honestly, stealing? Worse than a fucking twelve year old boy but who really cared? Not me, at least. Not in this condition.

Soon as my feet touched the wet tarmac outside the shop I took off at a run – more of a lope than a sprint, but a run all the same – and let my feet carry me the way they always knew best. Gotta trust your feet if you live on the streets because otherwise you'd end up really getting lost in your own fucking diggs and in more trouble than your every possession was worth. I just hoped I wasn't out of practice after all that time.

Seemed my feet did know best, and as primitive as I felt lumbering away from some shop with an armful of stolen goods like some kind of petty criminal I still really appreciated that little thing I call intuition. I soon found myself a sheltered back street, not getting as badly rained on as I had been when I was running. The rain must have started when I was in the store, and it had turned from a downpour into an outright flood in just minutes.

I was fucking cold.

I clambered up onto the lid of an old dumpster and uncapped the HiPotion, rolling back my shoulders to prepare myself for the disgusting taste and knocking it back in one go. I regretted it almost instantly as the most likely reason for Cloud not providing me with one popped into my mind at last.

'Never use potions for deep or multiple injuries.' It was one of the most basic rules hammered into our young minds in the most basic of Turk training classes and I'd just fucked it up, badly. As I felt the flesh of my semi-fresh wounds stitching itself back together slowly, I knew I'd made a really, really painful mistake. It was worse than getting shot, I swear. I clawed into the flesh of my forearm through my jacket and actually broke the skin, just trying to find some kind of distraction from the feeling of millions of my tiny, tiny cells splitting and joining and mending gaping gaps in body. Smashing open the top of the scotch against the rough metal edge of the dumpster, I raised it above my head and poured a whole lot of it straight down my throat, not even bothering to take the time to taste it as I did so. What was a couple of glass splinters when you'd been shot and fucked raw in the same 24 hours anyway?

It occurred to me at that point that it could have or could not have been days since I'd passed out on the Midgar plains. My mind told me it was probably only hours but considering the new pain I was in due to the stupidity of what I'd _just_ done, I didn't much feel like trusting my mind. It also passed, fleetingly, through my thoughts that Tseng had told me to come _straight_ back to Healin and here I was sitting on a dumpster in the dirty outskirts of Edge drinking whiskey out of a broken bottle in the rain. Felt just like old times.

I figured I was in enough shit already not to pass up a few more bad deeds, and when I realized I'd failed to pick up my PHS from Cloud and Tifa's place - and the transmitter of that dead terrorist – and I really didn't feel like crawling back there, the decision was pretty much made for me. The original plan still stood; get pissed and find some cheap whore. The potions I'd nicked off that old shopkeeper were probably payment enough for any struggling whore in what remained of the slums. Chugging down as much of the scotch as I could without spilling it all over myself or putting the broken glass to my lips, I smashed the bottle against the ground and set off with a new sense of direction in my life. For the moment. I pulled out a cigarette and that same lighter Cloud had tried to make off with the morning before, which I had somehow failed to lose during the insanity of my day, and lit up, if for nothing else then to warm up from the cold of the rain and to reassure me that I was making completely the right decision.

It really didn't take long to find some girl right up my street. Even in the rain, girls like that have gotta make a living, and this one had found a nice sheltered spot under a tarpaulin to shake her little hips and reel me in out of the cold.

The rain in Midgar was never really _that_ cold though. I could remember it, right from when I was kid, the polluted raindrops being slightly warm, reminding me of dreams of warmer places and giving me the feeling that I'd get out of that fucking city. It made me dream of different cultures where the sun shined and you could actually see it, not poking out around the edges of the plate, and not through the hazy grey mist that always circled the roof of the slums, but actually _shining_ in so much beautiful glory. I still remember the first time I saw the midday sun outside of the city. It's so different to how it was in Midgar, even on top of the plate where the ShinRa building was, because even there the pollution is pretty thick in the air. I was out on a training mission with two of the other Turk newbies, and both of them had joined ShinRa from across the continent so they just sat there and complained about the growing heat as we approached the coastline as I marvelled up at it like it was some sort of god. Course, doing so gave me those little white spots you get in your vision when you're staring at white light for too long, but it was worth it. That was the same day I saw the ocean for the first time ever too. Stretching for light years out under that golden sun, shimmering and glowing in it's own perfect sparkling sapphire way. I could go on and on about the sky and sea forever... I should stop, in case I do.

I used the recollection of that memory at just that moment to justify walking up to the blonde under the tarpaulin the second I caught a good eyeful of her. That and the fact she wasn't dripping wet like me. I could compare her short, ruffled, sandy blonde hair to the magnificent sun that day and her bright, dazzling blue eyes to the ocean as it shimmered in the harsh light of midday, but I won't, although the thoughts went through my mind. For just a fleeting moment I hesitated, disheartened by the similarity in her appearance to two particular people I knew, but moments later the doubt was gone and I decided to stick with my decision. If only for the way her tongue slipped silkily over her top teeth and she raised her hand, cigarette twisted between her fingers, and asked in such a soft voice if I had a light, eyes tempting and devious.

That was good enough for me. God, if I'd met a chick like her when I was younger and not so full of these maturing fucking morals I'd picked up in the last couple of months – not that I couldn't shake them if I tried, I'm sure – I probably would have kicked the job and paid her to run away with me. I stepped right up close, and with a close-lipped smirk, pressed the end of my cigarette to the end of hers so she could light up.

I could tell she liked that. Any bastard could have flicked out a lighter and held it in front of her like an amateur fool but if you're trying to set the mood, you've just gotta do it that way. "Gonna invite me in from the rain, babe? Jus' gotta get out these drippin' wet clothes," I shrugged, letting my accent slide down until it was real dirty and dragging out my words, rolling my shoulders back as I spoke. Her little pink tongue flicked out between her teeth again and she nodded her head towards the doorway behind her with a tiny hint of smile playing on those sweet lips.

There was an art to everything about what I was doing. It was like a whole separate side of seduction you had to master just for the whores. Sure, same bastard as before who would've flipped out his fancy and most probably fake branded lighter might have asked how much she charged, thrown out a tactless 'let's fuck' or, worst-case scenario, started to list the kind of funky shit he was looking for her to do to him. The whole idea with playing up the suave was getting a better deal. It's basic logic; if you get a woman hot for you, even a whore, she's gonna put more effort into treating you good. And if you're paying, it'll almost definitely be cheaper if you play it up to her right. Plus when she threw out her price over post-coital cigarettes, she was gonna be the one feeling awkward about the whole scenario while you just tossed her the cash and walked out feeling one helluva man for satisfying her better than any other random guy she'd fucked that day. It was a feeling I loved... and you know what they say; practice makes perfect.

I didn't bother with the small talk as I trailed up the stairs, following my instinct and enhanced sense of smell to find the bedroom she'd be putting us in. Kind of gross, if you think about it, the fact I could do that, but at least it didn't kill the tension we'd built already. Nothing worse than getting lost on the way to the bedroom pre-sex. She seemed a little more talkative than I'd expected though, not that I was complaining.

"That uniform," she purred, pulling me round when I'd found my way into the right room. She pawed at my jacket with both hands, looking me up and down and finally in the eyes, hers all cloudy with lust, either from years of experience or because she was young and yet to find out not all the men she'd be doing were as good-looking as me. "You're a Turk, right?"

There wasn't any malice or fear in her voice either, and if this had been a conversation and not a seduction I'd not be surprised if she added 'or you killed a Turk, tough guy' to the end of that question. She almost sounded impressed.

"That's the long and short of it, yeah, babe," I told her. "Intimidated?"

The husky question had barely left my lips before she'd pushed me down onto the bare bed behind me and straddled my lap. I'd picked a fucking winner. I let her undo a couple of the buttons on my shirt before running a hand through her short hair and tugging the length of it slightly so she moaned. Sure, I was paying her for this, probably, but I'm still the kind of guy who likes to pleasure his partners too, no matter what. Sex is just so much better when everyone's having a good time.

She'd worked me out of my jacket and my shirt hung loosely around my chest, her fingernails trailing lightly down my stomach to my open pants and my hands down the back of her skirt, grasping at her tight butt. Just as her hands slid down into my tented pants to pull my hardness free, the door flew back off its hinges, crashing against the wall and sending the echoes ringing through the cheaply built apartment block. My eyes shot open as I let out a throaty moan, landing instantly on the second blonde in the room who was looking furious and wielding one fuck of a massive sword, mouth hanging open in a forgotten string of angry words. And fuck, Cloud was blushing like there was no tomorrow. Seriously, red down to his neck. I'm sure I've said before that blushing is for _girls_. You'd never catch me looking like that.

I almost wanted to laugh at the sight of him standing there, looking ultimately freaked out like he didn't know what he was going to find once he'd burst in there, I can't imagine for any other reason than to find me. But the girl sitting on my lap with my dick in her hand screamed and threw herself off of me to the side, struggling back against the wall and pulling her shirt back around her breasts. I suppose, the sight of an angry man wielding some sort of weapon in your direction when you're trying to get it on really isn't exactly a turn on, nor a regular occurrence in the life of a girl like that but I was far from shocked. It's not the first time it had happened, although it had never been Cloud before. And _everyone_ knew who Cloud was, probably even the screaming bitch in the corner, which almost definitely made the situation ten times worse.

"Calm the fuck down!" I all but screamed at the girl, whose blues eyes that had been so lustful and inviting moments before were wide and frightened and almost brimming with tears, darting between me and Cloud. She shut up instantly, practically hyperventilating as none of us said anything. One thing I really hate about women is how whiny they are. We'd already _established_ I was a Turk. She'd made out like the danger turned her on, too. If anyone was to burst into her room wielding a weapon at that moment it really _wasn't_ going to be aimed at her. Still, she had to scream, like she was so terrified, even though I knew most of these whores could take care of themselves pretty well. Almost all women need _protecting_ like they're so weak and pathetic, and I just can't stand that.

"...Thank you." Cloud muttered almost silently after a moment and I finally tucked myself back in, zipping up my pants and raising my eyebrows at Cloud. I demanded an answer for this sudden and seriously unexpected intrusion.

"Care ta explain yerself, Spikey?" I growled, standing up and snatching my jacket up from the mattress.

He looked me up and down for a moment and snarled right back at me, not even trying to hide the fact that I managed to get him fired up like no one else could. I suppose there was no point trying now, seeing as he'd already let me in on what I assumed was his darkest secret. Although, perhaps it was because, when he fought with me, there was no remorse in what he was doing. Sephiroth, and the remnants and everyone else reminded him of the flower girl's death and his own failure and all that self-centred shit, but with me he had nothing to be sorry about. Maybe fucking me up the arse like a real bastard but there was definitely a silent agreement to tuck that memory away somewhere between just the two of us. "...You're disgusting," He spat after a moment, lowering his sword. "What's to explain, Reno?"

As I cocked my head and silently demanded more explanation for why the fuck he'd followed me into a whore house and shaken a big, shiny, sharp hunk of metal in my direction when I was trying to get off, I caught him giving the girl a real nasty look that the poor bitch didn't deserve. "Oh, I get it. You're feeling possessive, huh? I can fuck who I want, Strife."

That sharp, shiny hunk of metal found it's way to my neck again pretty quickly, cutting a really shallow incision into my collar and I took note of the fact it was really as sharp as it looked. If I'd actually thought he meant to kill me, I'm not even sure if I could have blocked the blow even if I'd tried. "Told you I wasn't letting you go anywhere in that state, considering you were _dead_ when I found you mangled in the dirt. Did I say you could take off the second I left the room?"

"Didn't realize I took orders from a grunt," I snorted, knowing it would tick him right off. Buttoning up a few of the buttons on my shirt I simply ignored what he was saying, the sword at my neck, and the fresh scent of blood from the new cut he'd given me. "Maybe I was jus' so sick of watching ya acting like Tifa's fuckin' _housewife_ that I jus' had to get out of there. I can hardly believe ya _followed_ me here."

"You don't exactly leave a difficult trail to follow." Cloud scoffed, lowering the sword again and cleaning the blade against my pant leg as he stared defiantly at me. "Your _boss_ turned up and I had to explain that you'd disappeared. Nice to know you're grateful that I saved your sorry ass. Are you coming, or do I have to carry you?"

The mention of my boss and the distaste in his words really shook me out of it, not to mention the notion of being carried out of a whore house by another man. Fuck, now I was fucked. I tried not to let it show and just shrugged, checking to make sure I hadn't dropped anything and shooting the girl a look that said not to protest, not that I expected her too after that performance anyway. She probably felt happy to get away with her life, despite losing a fare... she'd probably never seen a sword that big before. No, I was talking about _Cloud's_. Although…

…I trailed in front Cloud on the way down the stairs, feeling myself subjected to some of his ice glares behind my head, lighting up a cigarette with the hope it would thaw out the feeling a little. Fenrir was parked outside and I stopped, staring at it, feeling what I can only describe as the fight-or-flight instinct and wondering just how far I could get from him on foot if I decided to run again right then. Probably not far enough even after the potion.

"Fuck you if ya think I'm gettin' on that thing with you again, Strife," I groaned, inhaling deeply and blowing the smoke out as slowly as I could to try and relax. I just love the burn of the smoke coming back up out of my lungs on the exhale. It's so relaxing.

"Just get on Reno," He sighed resignedly, climbing on the front and stashing his sword into the compartment at the side. "I'm in no mood for games."

"After what ya did ta me last time I was sitting behind ya? No fuckin' way."

"Did to _you_?"

I should have expected him to grab my arm really, with the malice in that growl. He yanked me forward until I had to steady myself on the bike to stay upright. In fact I probably was expecting it, just not really in a position to fight back when really it was for my own good. If I was any later Tseng would hunt me down and kill me personally, and I mean that in the literal sense. Cloud fisted my shirt and yanked again and moments later I was on the seat behind him. With a deep-set frown and a scowl, I grabbed his waist a little too tight for comfort and kicked his heel to let him know I was ready to go.

Halfway back to Seventh Heaven, after five minutes of silence, I felt the desperate need to say something, even if only to piss him off further.

"Oi, Strife," I called, leaning forward to yell in his ear and instantly he slowed down a little, lowering the engines growl like he actually cared about hearing what I had to say to him. "Ya said I was dead when ya found me, right? You meant figuratively, right?"

He was silent for a moment and I thought he hadn't heard me, but then he slowed down even further and shook his head. "No... you were actually dead. No heartbeat."

"That doesn't make any sense."

Well, I had a point, even if Strife had done the whole 'dying and coming back to life' thing in the past. It just wasn't logical. He stopped the bike for a second and I untangled myself from him, sitting back to contemplate what the hell he meant, when he just shrugged. "I know it doesn't. It's a miracle you're alive, Reno. It seemed like you'd been dead for a while, but you just gasped back into life when I grabbed you." He revved the engine and reached behind him to grab my arm again and wrap it back around his waist. "I'll give you one thing. You're a real enigma."

We pulled up in the parking lot of 7th Heaven – I was pleased to see my own bike still there and not even sabotaged yet - and for a moment, I just sat there on the back of Fenrir after Cloud had climbed off and started chaining it up. I didn't really want to face my fate and I knew how angry Rufus was going to be. I'd gone out of my way to root through his things, and I'd disobeyed direct orders – because I'd passed out, in my defence, but I still did and that's how he'd look at it – not to mention stealing Tseng's motorbike. But, it's not like I could avoid it. I was going to be in trouble whether I went in there or not.

"They should probably be in the bar somewhere." Cloud spoke up when he noticed me staring off into space. I looked up and exhaled slowly, nodding and finally swinging myself off the seat. With an affirmative nod, I strolled towards the entrance like I didn't have a care in the world.

But then I faltered, a wince of pain shooting through me again and killing my confidence in one short, sharp blow. I stood on the front step, staring down at the concrete.

"I won't let him kill you, if that's what you're worried about." Cloud said from behind me. He was trying to sound sarcastic but wasn't doing too well at concealing the sincerity in his voice. It was almost kind of comforting if I'm honest. Even though I really didn't care about what Rufus was going to do to me, more pissed off at the thought that the others would be looking down on me once he had. They never meant it in a harsh way, but no matter how much like a family we are, I don't think Tseng and Rude could ever really forget where I came from. But… that wasn't what was on my mind.

"Thanks..." I said quietly, because I wasn't really used to thanking people I hated. I don't know what compelled me to say it, just the idea of dying was weighing on my mind, I guess. "Fer savin' my life, and all that, Spikey."

There was no reply from Cloud and I didn't look round, because I'd said my piece. It was time to go face the boss's wrath.

"I... don't think I did." I heard from behind me as I stepped through the door of the bar. There wasn't really anything else I felt like saying to the man, so I just ignored him, telling myself he was an idiot for not just accepting my gratitude. It didn't happen often. I was supposed to be trying to hate him, after all.

The bar was musky, and almost completely empty besides a few drunken regulars who were practically part of the scenery here. I'd never been bothered by them when I'd come drinking here before, never even bothered to find out their names. I was slightly – only mildly, and only because of the ploy to destroy the construction site – concerned about Rufus being out in public because he really hadn't been out at all even since he'd gotten healthy enough to move around out of his wheelchair, and now he was sick again. I couldn't see him anywhere.

I did notice, however, a small girl at one end of the bar with bright orange hair. My eyes widened and I looked away, just in case she spotted me and came over. Not that looking away would do much to conceal my presence if she did choose to look around, but Shelke had creeped me out so much before that I'd rather avoid her at all costs.

She spotted me, sharp blue eyes landing on me and freezing me on the spot. I groaned, hoping that noticing me was all she was doing and that the fact she was getting up had nothing to do with my presence. But no, she was walking towards me, and I knew what the first thing she was going to say would be...

"Reno." A strong hand grasped my elbow and manoeuvred me towards its owner. I flinched slightly, mainly because I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings and I had no idea where Tseng had come from. It's not much like me to get jumpy but I was _sure_ he hadn't been in the room a moment ago. With one last glance at the Deepground kid, who was almost looking crestfallen that I was needed elsewhere, I turned to him, swallowing my pride and preparing to take whatever hell the President had in store for me.

"Tseng." I replied, purely in acknowledgement, because there are time when it's best even for me to be polite.

"Now we go." He said sternly, and I could even feel the angry undertone in his voice. His palm still firmly on my elbow, he lead me back towards the front door just in time to see Cloud slipping through, shooting me a sympathetic look before he disappeared into the shadows so Tifa and the kids wouldn't notice he was in there.

"Where's Rufus?" I couldn't help but ask, because Cloud had said my boss had turned up.

"I had the president wait in the car with Vincent for protection. We can't let him be seen with us yet. I'm not about to let all our _secrets_ out, am I?" His tone was sharp and direct and I knew that he knew. He _knew_ how badly I'd messed up, he knew that Cloud knew about Vincent and what we were up to and the Stigmatalime, he knew _everything_. It didn't even matter that I didn't even know why Vincent was even staying with us. I was royally screwed. I shuddered slightly in his grip and shook my head.

"Of course not, _sir_."

As we approached the car, a big fancy black thing I'd never seen before in my life, the kind of car only a man like Rufus could afford, Tseng tugged my arm and brought me to a standstill, turning me to face him again. Obediently I did so, looking him right in the eyes. I wanted him to know that as complacent as I was being, that he still had no real control over me. I hadn't forgotten our bitter exchange of words before he'd left. Yet the look he was giving me almost made me want to shrink down and disappear; his face was right in close, and sparks were practically flying out of his piercing gaze, his teeth grinding together painfully. "No, of _course_ not. In _my_ eyes, Reno, you've betrayed us. You've gone _too_ far this time. I just want you to know, if it was up to me, you would _burn_ for this. You better behave yourself for the rest of your miserable life or I swear I'll kill you myself."

"Is that so?" I jerked my arm out of his grip and stepped back, biting down hard on my tongue to hold back what I really wanted to say, in fear of telling him exactly what I thought of him in return. I was not his dog and I refused outright to let him treat me like dirt! "Lucky it's not up to _you_ then, sir." I ground out, turning away and throwing open the door of the car. I don't know what was so, _so_ bad about what I'd done but I wasn't going to stick around after a comment like that.

Without looking back at him, I slid inside to meet the gazes of its occupants. For what it's worth, I did care about Tseng's reaction to what I'd said. He was supposed to be part of my messy little family, after all, but I knew waiting to see might drive me over the edge to start a real fight with him and that really would be worse than walking away from it.

I took a seat at one end of one of the padded benches in the car, across from Rufus and beside Vincent. I figured Vincent was a lot less likely to try and attack me unsuspecting in this situation, even though I still didn't know if I'd pissed him off that morning or not. He was watching me out of the corner of his eye, knee up at his chest, leaning his head on the tinted window. He almost looked like a moody teenager, if you didn't know him. Vincent pulled it off pretty well for a 29-going-on-63 year old.

Rufus was staring at me too, in a far, far less subtle way. In fact, his ice blue eyes were fixated on me like a hungry wolf, although he said nothing. It's impossible to explain just how disconcerting that is, coming from him. I swallowed hard, almost visibly I'm sure, and pulled the car door closed behind me. Tseng slipped into the drivers seat in front and quietly leaned back to ask Rufus if he wanted the privacy panel between the driver and passenger seats raised or not. Rufus shook his head curtly with only a moment's hesitation, not even taking his eyes off me as he did so. Tseng nodded and turned his eyes to the road, starting the car.

It took longer than usual to get back to Healin, seeing as the car could only travel along properly defined roads and the trail I normally took on my bike was all dirt. The whole journey back remained that way, with Rufus' eyes boring into the dark reaches of my tainted soul and no one saying a word. In fact the only thing that changed, probably, was that Vincent gave up watching me after ten minutes and stared out the window to watch the scenery fly past. I caught Tseng's dark glare on me in the mirror more than once. I sat there and fidgeted, biting my tongue and feeling more than a little sorry for myself over the whole situation. I mean, apparently I'd _died_ and they weren't even going to cut me a little slack? Couldn't a man take a break from his 24-hour-job when he's recovering to grab a drink and indulge in a little paid sex? Everything that happened in the last couple of days, if it had only been a couple of days because I still didn't know, was still weighing on my mind. Mainly dying, especially because a few superficial bullet wounds like that shouldn't have been enough to even make me pass out, and getting fucked up the ass by Cloud, obviously. There was also the whole Rufus-getting-sick-again thing and the fact everyone in my family was lying to me. On top of that, I was starting to feel old. Old in the way I'd been pretending not to feel for the last few weeks when I'd wasted all my useless time thinking about the meaning of my life, not that I had anything better to do anyway. I picked at the fluff sticking out of the seat cushion and tried to occupy my mind thinking about where the hell that car had come from anyway. I'd never seen it before.

But then again, seeing as Rufus seemed so damn good at hiding things from me lately, he probably had a whole garage full of fancy cars somewhere secret he only dragged out on occasions like this. Or maybe they'd just rented it. I wasn't really in a position to ask.

After what felt like forever and once more, the tubular set of white buildings we called home became visible up ahead on the mountainside. We drove across the bridge and I stared out the window quite hopelessly. I suppose I should have been planning how I was going to get myself out of this one, but I just wasn't in the mood.

Something in the trees moved. It was gone in a flash, nothing more than a dark shape, but I saw it. Squinting towards the forest area behind the house as the car rolled slowly up the hill; I tried to make out where it had gone, and what it was. Then I saw it again, slinking between the spindly branches and keeping out of the light that was peeking through the gaps in the leaves. I was still well aware that Rufus was still trying to shred me to pieces with his evil gaze but even he jumped a little when I raised my voice.

"Tseng, stop the car." I shouted, keeping my eyes fixated on the dark shape. "Stop the damn car right now!"

Rufus actually flinched as my voice cut through the tense silence like a sword through water. If I hadn't been in serious mode, I would have found it freaking hilarious watching him lose his composure like that, even if it was only for a second. It must have been the first time in years, if not ever. Tseng glanced back over his shoulder, his face still a mask of frustration as it had been earlier.

"Reno, what-"

"Stop the _fucking_ car, Tseng!" I yelled, interrupting his question and swinging around to give him the harshest look I could muster. After a split second of hesitation he hit the brake and we lurched to a stop instantly. My full attention was back on the shape in the woods, hoping that stopping so fast hadn't sent it running. But it was still there, paused and watching like a predator hunting from the shadows.

"What is it?" Rufus asked, his voice as smooth and unconcerned as ever, as he flicked a lock of hair out of his eyes.

"Somethin' in the woods," I muttered, my seatbelt already undone any my hand on the door. "Stay here, sir. I can't risk yer getting out in the open til I'm sure it's clear-"

The handle wouldn't budge. I shook it several times and looked up at the car's other three occupants in horror. They were all looking right back at me. "What the _fuck_ is this? _Child lock_? Are ya freaking _kidding_ me?!"

Vincent smirked slightly and lowered his face down into his cape, turning to look back out the window. Rufus was almost grinning at me sadistically like he'd planned the whole 'creature in the woods' facade just to embarrass me when I tried to get out the car and Tseng was staring me down with cold determination. I was fucking sick of them all.

"Ya put _child lock _on my fucking door! Yer all crazy bastards!" I gasped, slamming the heel of my hand against my forehead and rubbing it harshly. "Look, _something_ is out there in the woods and I swear, if it turns out ta be an assassin or some big freaky creature coming ta eat us, don' go expecting me ta go and try savin' yer ungrateful asses like I did at the construction site!"

Now I was just raving and Tseng was starting to look a little uncomfortable and the last thing I really wanted was to get in a load more trouble, so I shut my mouth and just scowled instead, watching the woods again. It had moved. "Great," I muttered. "I fuckin' had it and now it's disappeared somewhere."

"I'm sure it's..."

"They tried ta _blow up_ the construction site, Tseng. 'Kay? And none of ya would have even had the slightest clue. I got shot ta shit. I almost bled ta death in the freaking sand out there. Don' go tellin' me this is probably nothin'. Rufus' _life_ could be in danger and I'm not cool with that! We're Turks, or have ya forgotten?"

Tseng gave me one of those looks that you can't decipher. I hate that, when someone's staring at you and you can't tell if they're pissed off or amused or anything, 'specially if it's at something you just said. I might even have said Tseng looked impressed with me if I didn't know that was less likely than the creature in the woods turning out to be Sephiroth coming back from the dead to apologize for his misdeeds.

He nodded slightly and turned back around in his seat to take a look at the trees. "Vincent." He said firmly, without looking back.

Vincent looked up slightly, his chin still dipped below his cloak slightly and his own eyes fixated on something out the window. The same thing I'd seen, perhaps. Or at least, I hoped. "I'm on it." He said curtly, opening the car door and slipping through it in a matter of seconds. I didn't even bother to question why he'd done it. Whatever the hell was going on between those two, I didn't care to know.

"Valentine doesn't get child-locked in." I huffed immaturely, "Why does a car like this even _have_ child lock?" I folded my arms across my chest, watching the mysterious man disappear out of sight into the trees. Almost moments later something shrieked, unsettling the birds from the treetops in a flurry of feathers and squawking, and after a loud growl, it was silent again.

Silent in the awkward, tense, what-the-hell-happens-now kinda way too. Where no one really wants to talk to each other out of fear or just because they're plain pissed off, and I was definitely pissed off now. At least it had eased the dull, helpless feeling I'd had on the long car journey over here.

Rufus had taken to staring at me again and if he was even slightly concerned about what was happening it definitely wasn't showing. I had nothing better to do, so I stared back at him too. One defined blonde eyebrow was raised at me in challenge. I could tell instantly, even though I was in trouble already, he wanted to fight me over this one.

There have been times in Rufus Shinra's life, every now and again at least for as long as I've known him, when he just wants to argue. It's like a way of venting all his stress. Normally, he's happy to be the one in control, dealing the deathblows without getting his hands dirty and having the rest of the world tremble at his feet. I can tell he loves the power, and he always has. Even when he hints that he's tired of it, you can see it in his hard steel eyes. It's like a drug to him and he could never quit, I'm sure.

But I understand. When I lived on the streets, I was angry. Angry at everything; ShinRa, my parents, the law, everyone who lived happily outside of my godforsaken little world and everyone in it who made my life a living hell. And I had so much to be angry about. I wasn't born a fighter, though. Or if I was, I didn't embrace it for a long time. Sure, I was a hot-headed kid but I insulted with my words and not my fists. I used to just bundle it all up inside until I was ready to burst. I'd come out of an argument steaming with anger and just try and swallow it. It would have given me a haemorrhage eventually, I'm sure. Then one day I just snapped. It had been a bad day, an everything-is wrong, can't find any food and everyone's pushing me around, kind of day and some scumbag squatting in my street just pushed me over the edge by trying to take my stuff. He told me a kid like me would never survive on the streets and I was just stealing from the pros. I must have been 13 or 14 at the time. I killed him.

It was the first time I ever killed anyone and the only time I ever did before ShinRa snapped me up. I just beat him into the ground with everything my flying fists could get their hands on. I ended up smashing his skull in with a brick and every blow felt like I was unleashing all the tension that had built up over years of neglect and angry, unresolved arguments. And then, when I realized what I'd done, I reeled in horror and just ran, vomiting at short intervals the whole way down the street. For ages afterwards I kept out of everyone's way, tried to disappear into the shadows because I was so ashamed. Every fight anyone picked with me, I fled from with my tail between my legs. Until I just realized no one cared about what I'd done. I was just a nobody, who'd killed a nobody and the planet hadn't fallen off it's axis after all. That's around the same time I found the gang of guys I called family back then. After then, I picked fights with everyone just for the hell of it and it felt good.

That's probably not how Rufus found out fighting was a good release, I'm sure, but I can only assume the idea is the same, even if it's just fighting with words. Gaia help the guy who one day throws a punch in Rufus' direction.

I wasn't going to turn down a fight with him. I didn't care that he was my boss and that in the past he'd only picked these fights with petty executives he could fire with a click of his finger afterwards, if he didn't feel like 'terminating' them. I wet my lips, narrowing my eyes at him slightly. Challenge accepted.

In a fight like this though, it's all down to the first line. Whatever is going to get said is going to come out in those first few words and then all hell is going to break loose. It had to be Rufus really. I didn't have any ammo powerful enough to really throw him. The whole verbal-fight thing is like a choreographed dance we've both known for years, but never practiced together.

I was holding my breath for it, I really was. If Rufus was going to tell me what he really thought of me, it was going to be right now, and I doubted I'd ever get a better chance to tell him the same. He opened his mouth, my eyes trained on the movement of his lips so I wouldn't miss a syllable of what he was about to say...

Something heavy thumped against the roof of the car. Rufus hesitated, and closed his mouth again to glance out the window. I was about to yell at him to come out and say it already because I'd worked myself right up preparing to take the damage, when he reeled slightly and I turned and saw it too.

Blood, streaming down the window. Freaking disgusting, but that wasn't really the issue. Someone screamed. Something growled again, the same loud snarl from before and forgetting my desire to argue with Rufus I practically flew out of my seat towards the door on the other side that had no child lock. Vincent was out there and he could have been getting torn to shreds at the very second.

"Vincent!" I yelled, throwing opening the car door harshly and tumbling out, drawing my mag-rod out of the loop on my belt I'd secured it to. It didn't occur to me at the time, but I suppose it must have looked a little bizarre to Rufus and Tseng who had no idea I'd actually befriended the guy in the time they'd been gone but the thing is, right, that I found I _did_ actually care about him and I'd rather not sit around when he was being shredded to pieces. Especially when it should have been me out there looking for this thing, whatever it was. The blood...

Evidently, it wasn't Vincent's. When I was out of the car, that much became obvious, since the mangled corpse that had landed heavily on the roof of the long black vehicle beared no resemblance to my friend. He was masked, and dressed entirely in black like the SOLDIER's used to wear, but I had no time to think about who the hell he was because there had been another scream that obviously hadn't come from a dead man. I spun on my heel, and that's when I saw it.

It was like a big dog, but human-like in it's stance and hands, rags of clothes hanging off it's mutated, flea-bitten body. Although I wasn't really looking at it's body, because I was far too focused on it's massive fucking horns and ridiculous mouthful of pointy fangs. And then suddenly, it was moving faster than any natural animal I'd ever seen, almost too fast to be seen clearly, attacking it's second victim from all sides – my first thought was 'werewolf' but that was completely ridiculous; more likely it was one of ShinRa's sick experiments. I don't think anyone alive knew the extent of what the scientists had done in those laboratories back when old man Shinra was in power. I only know Rufus put a stop to it immediately, for whatever reason he did. I can't honestly say I know what level that man's morals are on.

Moment's later Tseng was at my side as I stood there staring at it, mouth agape and my readied weapon wavering uselessly in the air. He checked the body on top of the car for signs of life, as calmly as he might have if there wasn't a giant freaking wolf-beast behind us snapping at the flailing body of another helpless victim.

Although it definitely wasn't Vincent in its jaws either, which I'd like to say was a plus, except that I couldn't see him anywhere else, either. Ignoring Tseng doing whatever the hell he thought was appropriate at that moment – even though it really wasn't – behind me, I swallowed my shock and turned up the setting on my mag-rod. Stun probably wouldn't do anything to a beast of that size besides perhaps exciting it a little more.

"Wait, Reno-" Tseng called, grabbing my arm as I went to lunge at the creature and jerking me back with all the strength I forgot that he had when I didn't see him fight. I was knocked right back into the closed door of the car, the wet blood from the body on top of the car seeping through the back of my jacket.

"What the hell ya _doin_'?" I yelled, scrambling back up to get balance and shoving him in the shoulder. "Have ya _seen _that thing? It'll kill us!"

Tseng shook his head slightly and caught my arms as I went to push him again. "_Trust_ me, Reno!" He lowered his voice and looked me right in the eyes as I kicked at him to let go. I caught his gaze and held it, glaring at him. "Just trust me on this."

I stopped kicking. It'd been a long time since any of my family had asked me to trust them like that. I didn't want to listen. I didn't want to even think about it; I told myself he had to know that I trusted him already and started jerking out of his grip. I desperately tried to pull away from him again when I saw the beast coming towards us, but he held fast, and kept repeating the same thing. "Trust me."

And then the weirdest fucking thing happened.

The creature stopped, and growled loudly and collapsed. I looked at Tseng in complete disbelief. "How did ya know it was gonna fucking dothat?"

"You don't trust me." He said with a slight sigh and let go of my arms, walking towards the second corpse that had been thrown clear of the drive and into the trees. I watched him go and then scratched at the back of my head, wondering what to do with the big dead furball.

Except it wasn't a furball anymore, and I hoped it wasn't dead.

"V...Vincent?" I gaped, looking at the trembling figure of my friend who lay where the beast had fallen. "No, no fucking way! This is _not_ happening!"

I stumbled forward and knelt by him, not knowing what the hell to do. He was all there, shredded clothes and cloak and no beast appendages to be seen, and he was shaking. Well, I sure as hell don't know how to care for people who've just mutated into giant dog creatures and back again but suddenly didn't seem so utterly crazy that Tseng knew what was going on, so I could only assume that he did know what to do.

"Oi, Vincent, buddy, hang on alright?" I frowned, wondering whether I was saying that to comfort him, or myself. I sprang to my feet and practically flew over to where Tseng was. My feet barely touched the floor, I swear. "Tseng! Care ta explain what the hell is goin' on?"

"The Galian Beast." Tseng said curtly, not looking up from his inspection of the second body. I guess I'd pissed him off by not trusting him or whatever. But it's not my fault. Little over an hour ago the guy was so angry he told me he wanted me to burn. Can't blame a guy for not trusting someone who makes a statement like that.

"And what the fuck is that? Vincent's over there, practically unconscious and that's all ya gotta say?"

"The Galian Beast is Vincent's limit break. There's nothing we can do for him in this state, short of using a Phoenix Down, and we do not have one to spare." Tseng looked up, one eyebrow cocked slightly. "Why do you _care _Reno? You don't care about anything."

Pffft. Of course I cared about things! Like, my job. I cared about my job, and looking after my 'family'. I wouldn't have taken a leap of faith on a motorbike into a building rigged with bombs that morning if I didn't care. And I cared about... myself. I _did_. So maybe I didn't look after myself all that well but I didn't want to die – although somehow I'd already managed that once today – and right now, I cared about Vincent.

Tseng had lifted the body onto his shoulder and passed me whilst I'd been standing there dumbstruck, not knowing what to say about the fact that he thought I didn't care about anything. I'm sure that made it look worse, but right now, I told myself, there was Vincent to deal with and I would not stoop so low as to justify Tseng's _ridiculous_ question with an answer. Whatever this bickering had turned into between us, I would not let him walk away the better man.

"We can't jus' leave him lying there. There's gotta be some way ta help." I frowned, following Tseng across the gravel. Tseng stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me.

"You really want to help." He snorted in disbelief when I nodded slightly. "Fine, carry him up to the lodge and put him in your room. Otherwise just leave him here."

He stopped by the car and tapped on the window. Rufus rolled it down and gave him a questioning look.

"Sir, I need to drive these two up to the house. Their injuries need to be treated before we can question them," Tseng muttered as if he expected me not to be able to hear him. "Would you rather walk the rest of the way?"

Rufus looked sceptic, but after a moment he shook his head and slid over to the other end of the bench. Tseng opened the door and dumped the bloody bodies inside one by one.

I could hardly believe what I was seeing. One minute, I'm sure there's something going on between Tseng and Vincent and the next... he's leaving him out in the cold and opting to take care of two dying assassins instead. I watched the car drive on, my lips tight in frustration. I'd never get that man; _never_.

Vincent groaned and flinched. I'd almost forgotten I was supposed to be carrying him in all my frustration. I knelt down beside him and shook him slightly. "Vince? Ya in there, or are ya still all beast-y?"

"...Lu..." He whimpered, rolling his head to the side. "Lu... Lu..."

I wasn't going to kneel there and listen to him talking like a stuck record all night so I slid my hand under his head, sinking it into the mess of dark hair and propping him up against my shoulder as I tried to hook my other arm under his legs. I suppose I should have tried to throw him over my shoulder like Tseng had done with the almost-corpses, but he looked so small and pathetic at that moment, almost like a girl, and it didn't even cross my mind.

I finally scooped him up, holding him to my chest and starting slowly up the rest of hill. He wasn't as heavy as I'd expected but... he certainly wasn't as light as a girl like, say, Elena. Lighter than Cloud at least. It was kind of a relief because I didn't want to have to drag him around like I had done with Strife. Vincent seemed like the kind of guy everyone would be careful around anyway, whether out of caution or the need to preserve him exactly how he was. Kind of ironic really, seeing as he'd been preserved how he was for 30-odd years in stasis. If I hadn't known it was that sick bastard Hojo who had done so, I might even have assumed that was exactly why they did it.

I trailed up the steps to the lodge with Vincent cradled there like that, his tattered cloak flapping around at my feet because I'd failed to hang onto it properly and the wind was picking up. I didn't dare look down at the skin his ripped clothes had exposed for more than one reason – part of me didn't want to know what scars I'd find on a tainted body like his, one that could mutate into a creature like that, at will.

If it was at will, of course. I always thought a limit break – something I honestly didn't know much about myself, although I'd been on the receiving end of several during the times we were fighting Avalanche on a regular basis – only occurred when the subject was severely injured and the body, of it's own accord, unleashed the power within to protect itself. It was some spiritual shit like that, stuff I really didn't know and nothing they taught in ShinRa training. No one on the streets knew about it when I was young either – all that didn't matter then, because if you couldn't eat it and it wasn't trying to steal from you, you ignored it. Obviously not everyone had a limit break. Or at least I didn't, because I'd _died _today and no crazy inner strength had made itself known.

But I didn't think that Vincent had been in _that _much trouble dealing with the assassins in the woods. I'd definitely be questioning him on it at a later point, when he wasn't unconscious and wriggling in my arms.

I hadn't even noticed how cold it was outside until I was inside the lodge. Suddenly I was shivering from just the change in temperature and I had to tighten my grip around Vincent to keep from dropping him. He'd stopped moving, but I didn't know whether I was supposed to be worried about that or not, so I just hurried towards my room. Heading down the corridor, I heard Tseng and Rufus' voices from the lounge. I tuned them out, not caring about what they had to say at the moment, but even like that I could feel their eyes on me through the open door as I passed by. Sometimes heightened senses really suck.

I almost tripped on the stairs when I was carrying him down. It's like, if you've ever carried a box of things you can't see over down a staircase – you can't see your own feet. Which is fine when you're just not looking but if there's something in the way, suddenly you feel the need to be able to see your feet to balance and you stumble around all over the place because your depth perception is all messed up. A couple of steps from the bottom, Vincent thrashed out and I let go out of a complete inability to hold on against the brutal strength he had even when he was out cold. I caught his shoulder as he fell out of my arms, but the extra weight put me completely off balance and suddenly I was falling too.

A Turk needs to be able to adapt to any situation. Coming face-to-face and unarmed with a terrorist wielding a giant Gatling gun, for example, or falling down some stairs. In a split second he should be able to make a conscious decision about what to do and just do it. The easiest way to deal with a man with a gun is to duck and dodge, wait for him to try and reload and go for his legs, preferably between them. When tripping down some stairs, the only thing you really can do is roll and recover – never try to stop it from happening because you'll just look like an idiot – and whilst I have a tendency to look like an idiot, I was determined not to let this be one of those times.

It would have been fine, because as soon as I realized there was no way I could stop myself and Vincent from falling I dived into a roll and actually made it halfway over before, out of nowhere, Vincent's clawed arm shot out and took hold of my leg, the sharp metal points sinking through the flesh as he hauled me over him and sent me crashing into the wall with a hiss of pain.

Okay, that was once too many. I'd been thrown around and beat up and cut open _far_ too many times today and now I was just fucking bored of it. And now by someone who wasn't even awake? I snarled and pushed myself to my feet, grabbing him by the collar of his ragged cloak and lifting him off the floor by his neck.

Throwing him over my shoulder like a child, because I couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to things like his weight and the blood seeping out of my leg, I stormed down the hall to my room and kicked the door open, dragging him to the bed that had been – somehow, by someone – made up freshly as if they'd been _expecting_ this to happen, and throwing him down onto it. I wondered if it might have been Vincent, if he really had been expecting this to happen. Maybe his limit break was different, came once a month, like a menstrual thing.

Only then did I stop and acknowledge the pain I was in, dropping onto the mattress beside Vincent to pull up my torn pants leg and inspect the five gashes he'd made. Ruined pants – that was new. Although the blood from those half-dead men had probably absorbed right through my jacket and shirt and into my skin by now and destroyed the rest of my uniform anyway. Blood was one of those things that didn't really wash off and that was quite a problem for a Turk.

The wounds were pretty superficial – shallow but wide and long too where the claw had torn down the skin. They'd heal just fine by themselves, and I didn't really feel like drinking a potion after my wonderfully incapacitating painful experience that afternoon. I poked them slightly and they were sore – soon to get worse, I knew, as the skin grew back around the raw flesh – but not bleeding enough for me to even bother getting up to find bandages.

Vincent stirred behind me and I glanced over my shoulder at him warily. His gloved hand reached out and I shuffled away from him to escape the wrath of whatever nightmares he was trapped in. He whimpered again, a word I couldn't decipher forming on his lips. He let it out in a silent cry and grabbed for me again. I jumped up, refusing to be thrown across the room again.

Suddenly his red eyes shot open, blazing like the hell fires and wide with pain as he lurched upright crying "Lucrecia!"

Masking my own pain instantly – I at least didn't want him to feel bad after we'd departed on such bad terms that morning, especially when he was messed up like this - I grabbed his shoulders to stop him hurting himself as his clawed arm flailed out in front of him. "Vincent," I stressed, "Calm the hell down!"

He looked up at me and tensed, startled like he didn't know where he was. I tried to ignore the blatant confusion in his eyes and shook him lightly. "Ya doin' okay?"

"...Reno." He said eventually, like he was just getting his bearings, and looked me up and down like he didn't know why the hell I was there. If he'd hit his head too hard and had forgotten where he was, I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to explain it to him. I sighed, and nodded.

"That's me, yeah. Said, how ya doin'?"

Vincent just sat there silently for a minute, staring at his hands like he was ashamed of them. It was like talking to an idiot. I sighed again and stood up, brushing down my shredded pant leg like he wouldn't notice it. Stumbling towards the door, the slight irritating pain tripling when I moved, I fought the urge to just lie down and curl up. Too much was going on in my life and I couldn't keep up. Sex with my worst enemy? My friend turning into the thing that goes bump in the night? Terrorists trying to assassinate my boss, _again_? I just didn't want to think about it.

"Reno," Vincent called softly before I made it to the door. "You carried me."

It wasn't a question so much as a statement. How the hell he knew that when he was out cold the whole time, I didn't care to know. If this guy had larger-than-life mental powers to match his whole mutant-wolf thing, I wanted to be kept out of the loop.

"Guess I did," I chuckled, hand on the door knob.

"...Thanks."

"S'okay." I replied quietly, shrugging it off and opening the door. "Get some rest, Vince, 'kay?"

The feeling of just wanting to get the hell out of there took me by surprise. Even if I did care about him, the idea that he could actually become something completely different just creeped me out. I stepped over the threshold and actually made it a couple of steps into the hall before I heard him call my name again.

"Anything ya need?" I asked, trying not to give him room to start a long, deep conversation or anything. Not that I expected a guy like him would want to. The expression on his face when I looked back said different though; he looked like he was just bursting to tell my something… but was too ashamed to say it, or perhaps just didn't know where to start. Well, I didn't feel much like listening. I just wanted to go find a place to sleep myself. "No? Well, whatever it is, I promise we can talk 'bout it after ya get some rest. If do ya need anything, clothes or whatever, just take 'em."

Vincent stared at me for a moment and nodded, sinking his head as far down into the neck of his cape as he could. I'd been wondering why he still wore that thing when it was so ratty – I thought maybe it was something nostalgic, but now I could only assume it was because nothing new was worth buying if he was going to go all beast-y again and ruin it.

I shut the door behind me and wandered slowly down the hallway. I was tired, and just wanted to crash out now, but there was no way that was going to happen without an argument with Rufus and Tseng or at least a good talking to. One of the only downsides about such an intense job like mine is getting anything wrong is like being a kid again. You get scolded, like it's not natural to make mistakes. But everyone does, and in this business… you make life-threatening mistakes. That's just how it is, and at least I always come out of those kinds of situations okay. I was still breathing, that's a victory by my count.

Trailing up the stairs, I listened for voices from the lounge, but I couldn't hear anything. It would have been easy just to slip in there and fall asleep but I had this niggling paranoid feeling in the back of my head that said Rufus and Tseng were really in there, waiting silently to strike when I strolled in unsuspecting, so I made my way to the kitchen instead. I needed a cold brew to sort my head out.

Of course, it was only once I was inside the kitchen and had turned the lights on to come face-to-face with Rufus that I recalled forgetting to stock up with any more alcohol in all my recent journeys to the city. I suppose this wasn't the most helpful thing to think about but I guess at that point, my brain just over-heated and died so it wouldn't have to deal with Rufus' wrath when the rest of me did.

"Reno," he said smoothly. I tensed on the spot.

"Sir…"

"Why don't you take a seat?"

I nodded warily, silently following his order and eyeing the open door regretfully because I could have just gone to bed and not dealt with this. All at once, I was hit with an over-whelming and most unwelcome sense of déjà vu. Because, hadn't we just done this recently? Next thing he was going to tell me was that he wasn't dying. Or maybe this time he'd tell me that he was dying? Or…

"You've been sharing information."

…Or that. I frowned, trying to figure out exactly what he meant. It only took me a moment to figure it out – he had to be referring to the fact that Cloud knew about the Stigmatalime, and Vincent being here, although how Rufus had come across that detail I didn't know; and I was pretty sure he was about to give _me_ an earful for snooping around behind his back.

"Isn't that right, Reno?"

I wasn't really sure if he wanted me to answer him or not so I decided to take my chances and find someway to explain my actions lest he think I was trying to make a fool out of him for keeping my mouth shut.

I tried to tell him I wasn't sure what the definition of 'sharing information' was in this case, but he cut me off anyway. So much for that plan.

"Tell me, Reno," Rufus said slowly, rolling my name over his tongue like it was delicate and about to snap. The tone unnerved me horribly. "How do you justify breaking and entering within your own company?"

Yeah, there was that too. Although, I was sure I'd hidden the signs and I had thought up one feeble excuse in the car. "We were once the… research department… sir," I said quietly, stumbling over my words a little when his big hand came to rest on my shoulder. "I felt a little… left in the dark and thought it best ta do some investigating of my own…"

His fingers clenched a little into my shoulder blade, his thumb running over the joint slowly. I eyed it nervously, trying to look anywhere but Rufus. "Sir?"

"So tense…" Rufus mumbled almost inaudibly, although I'm sure he meant for me to hear. He paused, his hand still rubbing circles into my shoulder as I chanced a glance up at him. He was staring off distantly across the kitchen, I imagine deep in thought, but that wasn't easing the creepiness factor of the whole ordeal. Having a 'talk' with Rufus is bad enough without the shoulder-stroking business. I'd pick a fight with him over this any day, even though I have no idea what the outcome of something like that would be, even if it was highly possible I'd end up dead, again. "I'll accept that. You're definitely a very thorough Turk, and it has been wrong to hide all this from you."

It was probably the least expected thing I'd ever heard. Tseng could burst in through the window flapping his arms like a bird at that very moment and tell me he was having a child with the crazy ninja girl Vincent hated and I wouldn't be any more surprised. And yet, I couldn't relax. The calm, complimentary statement only seemed to make it ever more likely that Rufus was about to rip my head off one tendon at a time. I tried to keep my cool, and stared at the tablecloth. Screw this déjà vu, it was making me sick.

"Thank you sir." I managed quietly and finally he retracted his hand from my shoulder. He actually left it tingling a little, and much to my horror I felt horribly off balance. It wasn't a welcome feeling at that moment.

I always get that weird feeling. If you ever get it, you'll know just what I mean – basically it's just the feeling of being unbalanced. Like if you get splashed with water all the way up the left leg of your pants, you're walking and it feels wrong. It's happened before – suddenly you get the urge to wet the right pant leg too so it doesn't feel so weird. I hate that.

"Next time you decide to rifle through my private files, try to keep the cigarettes to a minimum, though," He added with a slight snort. My eyes widened so much that the tablecloth became completely out-of-focus. How could I have been so freaking stupid? Of _course_ Rufus and Tseng were going to find out I'd been in there, if I'd burned up all the fucking oxygen in the atmosphere. My cigarettes weren't exactly the least pungent things in the world, either. My bedroom never lost the trace of stink they left behind, but I kind of liked that. It was my bedroom through and through. Although this may have been the same reason I didn't realize how much I'd stunk up the place when I was in the office, as the smell was calming to me and almost unnoticeable. I almost felt sorry that I'd left Vincent in my room now, unless the mysterious sheet-cleaner had broken out the air freshener too.

Rufus hovered behind me, and I could hear his steady, collected breathing as he leant down a little closer. "Don't you want to know why, Reno?"

"Why sir?" I shot back at him, only because I was focusing on my weird-feeling shoulder blade and my stupidity for not realizing how much I'd smoked in the office, and not really on what he'd just said at all.

"Why we kept it all from you, why there's things you still don't know."

I guess it was kind of safe to assume there were things I still didn't know that the rest of the 'company', if we could even call it that anymore, were hiding from me, so I wasn't exactly surprised when he said that. For all I knew the 'company' had 2000 employees in military bases in every major city on the planet. I was a fast learner and I knew now I couldn't trust them over petty things like that. Still, I couldn't help but let it piss me off a little. My job was the most important thing in my life, after all. It should have been the one thing I knew most about too.

"Right. I mean, I do, sir." I mumbled slightly, massaging my shoulder a little and ducking my head.

"…I will tell you," Rufus said slowly, pacing across the kitchen towards the window with his hands entwined behind his back. "Perhaps. Once you explain yourself."

Okay, this time he definitely meant for me to explain why I'd shared information and why I'd really rooted through his stuff. I swallowed slightly and looked up to make eye contact, because everyone knows eye contact really is the best way to lie through your teeth without anyone realizing. And then I saw the expectant stare in his icy blue eyes. Well, if I could make him believe whatever shit was about to come out of my mouth, it was smooth-sailing from here on out, because he was ready to listen… and there was no _way_ I was admitting what happened between Cloud and me so he had to believe me. He _had_ to.

Except that I didn't really know what to say at all. I opened my mouth to explain but short of saying 'how much do you know?' I really didn't know what I was even trying to explain and asking that would only make the entire situation so much worse.

I shut my mouth again and broke eye contact, glancing towards the door and then the window, wishing I could escape and go find somewhere to sleep. So, lying through my teeth wasn't going to work, seeing as I had put no thought into how I was going to explain Cloud being here and finding out without the sentence starting 'We were drunk, and…' and that would only go downhill from there too. The only other idea I had was distraction.

"I'm still worried 'bout the assassins," That was pretty much all I managed to get out. It was true – I'd been too caught up dealing with Vincent and fighting with Tseng earlier to think properly about it but just because we'd almost slaughtered two of them, it didn't mean there wasn't more. I suppose the reason it was quiet in the lounge now _was_ that there were two comatosed terrorists in there though – no hope of getting any sleep there, then, I guess.

"Tseng is on it." Rufus replied smoothly, although I could hear that I was ticking him off by not answering. We were all more fine-tuned to his emotions than any normal person could be, because we had to be. Although, that didn't really mean much; if he didn't want to, Rufus couldn't be made to give anything away.

"Right…" I murmured, my own head literally wandering off alone to leave me dumbstruck in this situation. I was starting to wish I'd given it more thought in the car. If I could just sleep… perhaps I could use Rude's room. Thinking of which – "Where are Rude and Elena? Sir?"

I looked back up at Rufus, because now I really was caught up with my own question. Obviously they weren't back from whatever their assignments were, but that was not enough comfort. Especially not with the terrorists and such.

"Working. They are in Junon. Reno, back on topic please."

There was no room for manoeuvre now – the commanding tone in his voice let me know I had to explain now or possibly not wake up tomorrow. I grimaced slightly and braced myself against the table. No good lies came to mind, so all I could do was bend the truth.

"Okay, I get ya... Well, Vincent needed a package delivered…" I started, staring Rufus right in the eyes. "I figured it was best ta not be seen with him if ya didn't want people ta know he's with us so I said I'd do it for him. Then I ran out of gas, and bumped into Cloud and got him ta bring me home…"

I looked away again. His stare was just too freaking intense. Creepy, too, because he never seemed to blink when he was staring back at you like that. I closed my eyes and sighed slightly. "…And 'cause I'd been researching the Stigmata-thing and he always knows stuff about things like that I figured it was safe to ask him what he knew, 'cause he wouldn't really know _why_ I wanted to know…"

"I see…" Rufus cut me off, his voice really close, right up by my ear. I fucking hated it when he did that, moved across the room like a wraith to freak you the fuck out. My eyes opened and I tensed again, shifting forwards slightly in my seat so I wouldn't feel his breath on my neck or anything equally as freaky. "but I know you're lying."

Well, that was it. The last five smooth syllables had secured my fate as a dead man at that very moment, I was sure, or something. I tensed even more and drew slightly closer into myself like it would protect me from whatever was about to happen.

"Care to explain why you're lying?" He said softly, leaning in closer. Now I really could feel his breath on my neck. It was laboured, almost as unnerving as the slightly husky tone his voice had taken on. "No, don't answer that. I think I know why."

"Why… what's that, Sir?" I said awkwardly, almost to myself, as I felt his fingers at my neck. Slowly he wrapped around the back of my shirt collar, almost as if he was teasing me, letting me think I could make a run for it even though I knew he could snatch me back in an instant right now even if I tried to escape. I swallowed hard. His hand fisted my collar and jerked me back slightly so my head was almost leaned against his chest.

"You," Rufus hissed through gritted teeth, "let him _fuck_ you, didn't you Reno?"

Oh, holy shit.


	10. Chapter 10

To all my readers – I apologize!

Apparently glitched and didn't notify anyone of Chapter 10, so I'm trying to post it again!!!

Please let me know if you get the notification email!

Then I will delete this.

Ru xxx


	11. Chapter 10 try 2!

10 ---

Author note: Hey guys! It's been a year and one day since I started writing this chapter . and it's actually pretty short. But hey, I've got to start again somewhere. Enjoy it!

Also, today is the one year anniversary of me getting together with my wonderful fiancée! The two things coincide suspiciously. But don't worry, I am back for good.

Onwards with the fic!

---

"W-what makes ya say that?" I stuttered, throwing myself backward out of the chair and yanking away from him hard. Rufus let go of my shirt collar and let me trip backwards, as he stood there watching me with the slightest smirk on his face.

Flailing my arms out behind me, I stumbled back and caught the kitchen counter, quick enough to stop myself from dropping onto the floor but slipping anyway and kind of hanging there helplessly for a moment. He didn't move, still watching me with his piercing eyes, like he was expecting me to actually come out and confess. Hanging there off the counter wasn't doing anything for me so slowly I let myself slide down on the floor and just sat there, dumbstruck for anything else to say. Denying it like crazy wasn't going to help the situation in the slightest, because if he knew about it, he'd heard it from a solid source. Vincent, or Cloud …and Cloud said he swore he wouldn't tell.

Cloud and Rufus had _never_ got along, especially seeing as the first time they ever met, Cloud sliced Rufus' precious pet in two with his big fucking sword and Rufus tried to have Tifa executed. I liked Dark Nation. Cute little pup, really. I've never really been a dog person, but Rufus adored him and so as Turks, we kind of had to love him too.

Anyway, my point is that despite the fact they still hated each other's guts – quietly now, with less swords and shotguns, but they still did – I doubt that Cloud would give away something like that just to spite Rufus. It's not like it's something that would piss him off anyway, or at least I thought not.

Which left Vincent. Fucking hell, I thought I could fucking trust Vincent, but… seems like I can't fucking trust anyone at all. Great. It's a good day to be me, I fucking swear.

Rufus came closer, footsteps almost silent as a wraith. He crouched down in front of me, blue eyes flickering to the left and right, I assume to check if anything on the floor was going dirty up his spotless white suit. He leaned right forward and opened his mouth slightly, eyes flicking up and down over me, until they landed on my leg. For a moment, I thought he was going to change the subject, but no.

"So that's why you're limping." He said with a slight scoff, before fixing his eyes on my face again. "I see."

"Why the hell else would I be limping?" I muttered quietly, looking away from him at the tiled floor. He was fucking freaking me out, being that close to me. I don't know what the hell was going through his head at that moment, why he sounded so fucking angry about the fact I'd slept with Cloud; maybe it was just pent up anger or maybe he thought it was more disgusting even than I did.

Rufus just snorted slightly and flicked his hair out of his eyes. It seemed to be a new – and annoying – habit of his. "How many times, Reno?" He asked snidely, leaning even closer. I drew back as far as I could against the cupboard doors behind me, the door handle pressing sharply into my spine.

I said nothing, because sometimes it's just best not to. It was easy to pretend I didn't know exactly what he was talking about. Because I did, and though the answer was probably better than whatever the hell he was expecting, if he was even expecting anything, I just wasn't ready to admit it out loud yet. I hadn't even fucking come to terms with the fact I'd slept with a guy yet.

I could still feel Rufus' eyes on me, though. It was the same feeling as when he'd been staring in the car, and I guess, it was because of the same thing. He probably thought I was completely sick in the head.

A knock sounded at the half open door. Rufus looked around, and stood up quickly, straightening out his pants as he did so. Tseng pushed the door open the rest of the way and cleared his throat… all at once, the sense of déjà vu hit me again. Because last time we were doing this, Rufus and me in the kitchen having a really uncomfortable talk, Tseng had walked in, hadn't he? It had been awkward too, like now. I was still sprawled on the floor and this time Rufus had been crouching there, staring at me.

"Tseng," Rufus nodded, acting like nothing was wrong. Maybe not in his head but I couldn't even bring myself to try and get up. I was freaking happy, sitting there. Better than I'd been all day. Not that it was the most comfortable place to sit, but I'd suffered worse in the last 24 hours.

"Sir. The perimeter has been cleared."

Rufus nodded again and glanced back at me, snorting slightly. "Very good." He said smoothly and started for the door. "And the captives?"

"Bound, and still unconscious. But they're going to make it." Tseng answered, rolling his shoulders back as he spoke, and clasping his hands behind his back.

"Alright. If that is all, I am going to sleep."

His last statement was more like a question, challenging Tseng to interrupt him. I watched the Wutain man carefully from where I lay slumped on the floor, silently hoping he would, and that it would annoy the boss. He deserved it, since he'd been freaking the hell out of me.

Tseng did speak up again then, somewhat hesitantly, and if he hadn't practically admitted to hating me back in Edge I might have even half-believed that he'd heard my mental prayer and decided to answer it. But I couldn't forget that he'd told me he wanted me to burn. You just don't forget shit like that. "One more thing, sir." Tseng said slowly.

"Yes?" Rufus questioned, pausing in the doorway and looking back at him and then at me like I was more interesting than whatever the hell Tseng had to say.

"About the sleeping arrangements, with Vincent staying here for an extended period of time-"

"I have already explained, Tseng," Rufus interrupted, flicking his hair again. "The last building will be utilized within the next 48 hours. There should be no problem."

We hadn't used the third and final building, which sat further up the cliffs, for anything yet. I don't think any of us had even been inside since we'd bought the lodge a year ago – Rufus had just had it locked up and had told us it was better to remain in close quarters during troubled times, for safety reasons. It was a smart idea to help prevent any attempts on Rufus' life because the fact he was still alive had just become somewhat public. Although I've said before, there really haven't been any real threats since Avalanche was still in full throttle and meteor was threatening the planet – pretty much since Rufus took over – until now. So we'd just ignored the third building and I'd practically forgotten about it entirely.

Of course, the first thought that sprang into my head was that perhaps there was a bottle of whiskey or two left up there. It was a rest home, after all. They were expected to have these kind of things.

"I thought perhaps with the change in Reno's situation-"

My situation? That caught my attention. Unless he was referring to the fact I was in shit loads of trouble, I wasn't aware of any 'situation' I was in. Now, my bosses and colleagues can try and keep shit from me all they want, but stuff about myself, I deserved to know. I mean, I _would_ know about it anyway. Right?

"The situation has not changed," Rufus corrected him curtly, and tore his eyes from me to stare straight at Tseng. I shuddered slightly as soon as he broke eye contact with me, having held it in. I didn't want to show weakness, not in front of Rufus. "Reno and myself will move into the third building promptly. Goodnight, Tseng."

"What?!" I shouted and scrambled up off the floor. Okay, everything freaking me out was one thing but making a decision like that was out of order. Out of _fucking_ order. Not because they'd decided without telling me, but because Rufus was acting so fucking weird. Couldn't Tseng see it? Like before, when Rufus had me by the ponytail in the kitchen, and the way he kept staring at me. Or maybe he did see it and he just hated me _that_ much that he was going to let it happen. Whatever Rufus' problem with me was, I was not getting locked up in a separate freaking building with him! I refused!

I was up on my feet in mere seconds, but Rufus was already through the door and gone without a second look back. I'd almost forgotten about the massive gashes in my leg, too. That just left Tseng and I standing awkwardly in the kitchen, with me hissing in pain and gripping at my knee like I could squeeze the sensation out.

Tseng scoffed at me slightly. I looked up and glared, my teeth still gritted through the pain. "Don' fucking laugh. I don' wanna be stuck with him in that fucking building!"

"What happened to your leg?" He asked in a perfectly civilized manner, although he completely ignored what I'd just said. You'd almost thing we hadn't been fighting for a moment. But we always did this – argue, and then pretend we hadn't. Just never on this scale.

"Dog-boy got me with his big scary metal claw." I scowled, peeling up my ripped trouser leg to look at the five gashes again. I heard him inhale sharply when he saw it.

"Nasty. You should wash that," Tseng said bluntly. "For a moment I almost thought you actually did care about Vincent, Reno. I guess I was right, though. You really don't care about anything."

With that, he turned and left the room. Bastard, making a comment like that again. I swear, it was gonna become one of those things that started bugging me all the time. I did care about things, I've already said that. Like, my chopper.

…Fuck. The chopper. I hadn't even thought about it, I'd hardly even remembered what had happened, but it was flooding back to me now. Leaving the construction site, getting pissed off about that bastard terrorist, bleeding to death in the sand and fuck, the chopper was gone. _Vanished_. No longer there. I hadn't even had time to think about it then before I'd dropped dead – literally, if I could even believe Cloud, although at that moment he seemed like the only person worth believing if I'm really honest. I had no idea if the others knew it was gone, although I had to assume so. I'm surprised they hadn't ripped my head off about it yet.

The only person I guessed could possibly know about where it could have got to is Cloud and it was worth a try. It's not often I'm struck by the desire to call someone I don't like, and similarly it's not often I'm struck by the desire to call someone after sex, but sometimes both are called for. The chopper – the chopper I _did_ care about – was potentially stolen, or destroyed, or worse if that was possible. It was my duty to find out what had happened to it. Tseng's bike, too, now that I thought about it.

I unrolled my shredded pant leg and limped towards the kitchen door, reaching into my pocket for my PHS to call Cloud. Reluctantly, I might add, but I was going to anyway. Cloud and I had exchanged numbers after the incident with the Remnants, or rather Cloud and 'the company' because technically it wasn't a private thing between the two of us, because he'd asked us not to bother Tifa anymore if something major cropped up like it had done; he didn't live at the bar and the delivery service number really was for deliveries and not for business like ours, or something like that.

Of course, I'd left my PHS _with_ Cloud and so not for the first time today, I was royally screwed. I swear, this was the longest day of my life to date. I'd been through worse, but not all at once like this.

What I did find in my pants pocket was that bloody necklace I'd picked up off the man I'd killed. I pulled it out and examined it again – I didn't really know why I'd taken it, I guess because he'd acted like it was precious to him and such. Maybe part of my subconscious had decided it was probably valuable and worth selling. Or maybe I really had just felt bad about killing him. It wouldn't be the first time in my career that I'd been struck by that feeling, but I did my best to ignore it.

A year or two into my job, I was given a research assignment that had to end with a kill. They'd told me from the start that it would, and at that point, I was beyond being bothered by the routine of it. I had to get close to some guy – they called him 'Cormack', but street aliases are rarely real names. He was a real bonehead apparently, used to work for Don Corneo and shit. He'd gotten rich somehow and Old Man Shinra didn't like him, for whatever reason. I had to find out everything I could about the guy, how he'd made his money, whether he was a threat to ShinRa and such, and if he was, we had to take him down.

I went in there with my own alias – Jordan was the name I used – and at first, I just thought the guy was a complete prick, and had made his cash selling off mako residue or something. But slowly I got to know him and actually let him know a thing or two about me – I was still damn young and I hadn't told anyone about all the shit that happened to me out on the street. Talking to Cormack was almost refreshing, even though I did have to make him believe I had nothing to do with ShinRa and was still living in the streets. Turned out he'd grown up in the same shithole in Sector 7 as I had. He had a bright red crop of hair like me, the kind you hardly ever see; the two of us actually got on. He said we could be like brothers and he starting trying to convince me my life really wasn't all that bad. I wouldn't listen at first. I was pissed off that ShinRa seemed to want me to off myself on ridiculous assignments and I hadn't gotten over myself after living on the streets. Then slowly he kind of got to me. He told me how he'd made his money – it escapes me now, but what I'm saying is that he convinced me that I didn't need to live the life I had been, that I was worth more than that. He even offered me a job and a place to live and I was really starting to like the guy when he slipped up – he told me his plans. He did want to run ShinRa out of town and whilst I didn't want him dead, I really wasn't cool with that. I actually cared about him, though, and figured there was a way to get everything I wanted with the least consequences. Stupid decision for someone like me. Only a real genius like Rufus could pull off that off.

But I was still big-headed, and so I made a rash decision. Intelligence had been listening in to everything we talked about, and they already knew, so there was no way I was keeping his confession secret, but I smothered the microphone and told him everything. I told him who I really was, and that I'd get him out of there alive, because he deserved it. He trusted me, too.

When it came down to it, the ShinRa guard got us cornered and the other Turks were called in. Now, I wanted Cormack to get out of this with his life, but I had my job security at ShinRa and I wasn't about to fight to the death for this guy. I wasn't willing to kill guards, or take on Turks to fight for his freedom. Perhaps if it had happened later in my career, then I might have… but even something you're passionate about is not worth losing everything over. It's not. So I was cornered, and ShinRa gave me a choice – fight and die, or kill the guy right there and then and face the consequences of my actions.

I certainly wasn't ready to die and it was hardly the first time I'd had to deal with punishment for doing something wrong, so I agreed to their terms. We all stood there, Cormack cowering and begging me not to kill him, and telling me to think about all the things we'd talked about and screaming out 'Jordan, Jordan, don't do it!' I'd reduced the man to a crying wreck, such a strong fucker like him, and I think that's the only thing that actually gave me the courage to put a bullet through his head. I was angry, with myself and with ShinRa, but it was easier to pretend that I was angry with him for being all talk and no action than accept that. When I went to do it, I had the pistol cocked at point blank against his forehead and my own eyes were closed. I was gritting my teeth and trembling slightly, and it was probably one of the worst few seconds of my entire life, where every moment seems to last a lifetime and so I did the only thing I could to handle it. I exhaled deeply, and straightened up, and looked him straight in the eye. "It's not Jordan," I snorted, giving him a cocky smirk like I didn't give a shit. "It's Reno." And then I pulled the trigger and blew his fucking brains out against the concrete wall behind him. I watched, too. Blood and brains and bright red hair decorating the dull grey scenery like a messed up masterpiece. The stuck-up attitude saved me then, and I've never looked back.

When I turned back to the grunts and the other Turks I laughed again, because it was all I could do to keep myself from being sick right there and then. "See? Easy." I said, and swung my pistol around in my hand. The other Turks escorted me to the car and that was that… Later Tseng caught up with me in the bathroom, dry heaving over the basin, my face streaming with tears. I don't really cry, not ever, but I was so disgusted with myself that I couldn't help it. Tseng told me then never to trust anyone ever again except the Turks. He said attachments made the job impossible – emotions, relationships and aspirations – and that if I had to trust someone, to let it be him and no one else. I thought he was a complete bastard for saying it then but slowly I started to live like that too. Funny, how things change over time. I wonder how we ended up like we did now.

The necklace glowed slightly in the light when I turned it over. It was like a green gem, a spiral of silver metal holding it in place. The metal got thicker towards the end, twisting into the chain that made up the rest of the necklace. The green orb itself almost looked like a tiny splintered piece of materia, except for something yellowish in the centre that seemed to be the cause of the bizarre glow it had. Looked pretty, but I doubted that it did anything special. I assumed it was an heirloom or a gift of some sort; I wasn't really sure what else could make a man go crazy over a necklace, but if anything it could help in the future when it came to blackmailing the terrorists. Shrugging slightly, I put it on and shoved it under my ruffled shirt collar, straightening that out too from Rufus' attack. My main priority now was contacting Cloud about the chopper, finding something to drink and then somewhere to sleep. We had to have a spare PHS somewhere… one that didn't require bothering Tseng or Rufus, or…

Or… I could use Vincent's phone. Now that was an idea.

I stood out in the hallway, considering my options. I could break into the third building and look for left over booze no one was going to miss, or I could root around in the crates again in the garage, looking for another one of Rufus' bottles of cognac or brandy or something similar. The storage garage was probably my best bet, but the building we'd barely even touched was far too exciting to miss out on. I could always venture down to the other one if I came up empty handed.

And so it was decided. I made my way outside and around the back of the building to where a rocky path ascended into the forested hills above. It lead to the other building if I remembered correctly, so rubbing my hands together to fight the chill of the night and rolling up my sleeves, I took hold of my mag-rod –preliminary protection against wild boars or anything of the sort and began to limp up there. It wasn't too tough, although honestly, I didn't see Rufus taking the route every day. It had become a lot more overgrown and wild in the year we'd left it unattended. Light rock fall from the cliffs above had made the ground unstable and I slipped more than once, but like a miracle, managed to catch myself. Must have been the first time that day.

After a few minutes the large greying building came into sight, so similar to the others but for the fact it wasn't clean and that the stars sparkled behind it. I smiled up at the night sky, taking a moment to revel in its vastness as I neared the steps up to the building. It looked almost exactly the same as the building we occupied in layout, except mirrored – hopefully that applied to the inside too so there wouldn't be too much fumbling around in the dark looking for the kitchen. The lights were probably switched off to conserve power and I was beginning to regret not bringing a torch.

I hopped a broken step on the way up to the front door – probably smashed in half by a falling rock or maybe it had just rotted over time – and turned to look down over the valley. Fuck, I was a long way up now. It was almost like flying, save for the fact I could feel my two feet on solid ground (actually the solidness of these steps was questionable but still…) and I liked it. If it wasn't for the fact I'd have to be staying with Rufus up here, I could almost get used to it.

It occurred to me that perhaps I could bargain – I could say that with the terrorist threat it probably wasn't as a safe as it had been for Rufus to stay in a separate building to the other Turks with just me as protection and that he should stay with Tseng. It wouldn't be at all bad with, say, Rude staying up here with me. We could play cards and hold those silent conversations we always seemed to be so fond of. Yep, I could picture that pretty well. Hanging off the deck with a cigarette and a brew, just chilling with my best friend and not needing to say anything. Much better than having Rufus yanking my chain, any day.

The door to the third building was locked solid but I guess the wood around it was rotting too, as it came free pretty easily in a cloud of splinters. I blinked slightly, trying to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. There were no massive windows in the roof here as there were in the other block and the lack of natural light made everything almost pitch black.

The layout did seemed the same inside, although reversed, and with different furniture. Everything was that little more homely than in our building, because Rufus had thrown out everything he deemed unnecessary one day when he was feeling moody.

Rufus has a tendency to do things like that when he'd moody – chuck things out the window, shoot people, go down to the firing range, make a new law... You can't really tell that he's in a bad mood until you see him doing one of these things and that frightens me. He hides his emotions so well.

I limped across the wooden floor of the first room towards where I expected the door to the hallway to be, running my hands across the left wall feeling for it and trying to support myself. The hill and then the staircase had really put a strain on my leg. It would be fine, I just needed to rest, and get drunk.

My hand slipped over something different now, and it had to be the door from the feel of cold metal. I groped around for the handle where I knew it to be, if it was the same green aluminium door as we had down in our building. Finding it after a few moments, I pulled it open and peered into the long, dark hallway beyond. Finding the kitchen was going to be fun.

Unlike the foyer, there were a few tiny windows lining the top of this corridor, giving me just enough light to see the array of doors along it's walls. More than in our building – they must have been small rooms, probably all bedrooms by the look of it, for patients here. I started to worry slightly that there might not even be a kitchen – but oh well, at least I was exploring. It was keeping my mind off all the shit that had been going on.

All the doors were unlocked, and my suspicions were correct, as I found a small bedroom with a cubicle bathroom behind every door. They were all pretty identical – a single, wooden-framed bed pushed against one wall, with bed sheets in the same olive green as the doors. Some of the beds had been stripped, and others remained unmade, giving the whole place a really creepy feel to it. The dirty bandages left around, stained with geo-stigma excretion didn't help, either. I felt like I was walking through a derelict hospital ward and not the building that was about to become my new home. One of the rooms did catch my eye though – not for a good reason, either. It looked lived in. It didn't seem to be particularly special compared to the other rooms, the same bed and dresser as any of them, and it's own tiny, cupboard-like bathroom with a shower, toilet and wash basin and nothing else. The only reason I could tell it was different was the cardboard boxes spread around the floor, a few items of scattered clothing and a couple of dirty plates stacked up on top of the dresser. That, and the fact it smelled different to the others, not so musty and old, more like the scent of another person. Any normal person couldn't tell, but with my enhanced senses, it was a stitch.

No reason for immediate concern though. The food on the plates had turned solid and fused with the ceramics, and the clothes, although unwashed, had lost the stink of something recently worn. I knelt beside one of the boxes, rooting through it in the low light to see if I could find any clues as to who might have been living there. Perhaps it was just a really messy, bad smelling geo-stigma patient who'd never thought to clean up when it was time to leave for the city to be healed in the Sector 5 church.

I found nothing that gave anything away in the first three boxes, just more clothes and trinkets and silly little personal items, and sceptically moved onto the fourth. I didn't come up empty-handed this time – an unopened bottle of Mideel Red Rum was wedged in among the junk, the outside of the bottle sticky with something but the inside looking beautifully aged and delicious. Satisfied that we weren't in any danger right now, I popped the bottle under my arm and stood up. The motion was more painful than I'd expected it to be and I stooped again, clutching my injured leg slightly. I could put off further investigation until the morning; now was time for getting drunk and forgetting my troubles.

But first, to call Cloud.

I loped back out of the building and carefully down the wooden stairs, being even more cautious on the rocky, overgrown hill on the way down as I had been on the way up and somehow managing again not to slip. I wondered if we'd gotten past midnight yet and my nightmare day was over, but no, it couldn't have been past 10, latest.

Again I hadn't noticed the cold out until I was back inside – the warmth of the lodge overwhelmed me and made me feel a little stuffy. I cracked open the bottle of rum quickly taking a moment to inhale it's aged scent before I took a gulp. Oh, that was good shit. I hadn't had anything nice to drink like that for a couple of days, at least.

I found myself standing outside my own bedroom door, contemplating how I was going to do this. Sure, I was a great pickpocket, and I could steal easily from corner stores or from under mobster's noses but from Vincent? I doubted it would be so easy. As well as the man being an ex-Turk, he seemed to have insanely enhanced senses. I could just wake him and ask for the phone, but I didn't like the idea of him listening in on my conversation. I still wasn't comfortable around him yet after our argument that morning, and especially not now I'd seen him limit break in action. Any man who could turn into a larger-than-life mutt had something seriously wrong with him.

Taking a confident breath, I slipped into my own bedroom like I was sneaking over the enemy fence in a war zone. Vincent was completely out of it, sleeping dead still on his back, barely even breathing. I faltered for a moment, wanting to check if he was even still alive, but I knew he probably was. Tseng had been willing to leave him unconscious in the middle of the road, so he had to know the man was going to survive this on his own. I'm sure he would.

I thought for a moment as I stood there where Vincent might keep his phone. On his person, obviously, seeing as he'd travelled with no luggage. I hadn't really noticed that before – at least, it hadn't seemed relevant, but now his pants were torn and bloody from his transformation, I couldn't help but wonder if he just had several copies of the outfit and what he was going to do for clothes if he didn't. Of course, we had spare clothes knocking around – probably some casual stuff because I seriously doubted we'd get Vincent back in a Turk uniform this side of the next hundred years, although I really couldn't picture the slim, wild-haired man in a pair of Rude's sweatpants and a wife-beater – he was free to borrow anything he wanted, really, seeing as he was our guest but if this whole 'Galian Beast' business had happened in the past, surely he had a way of dealing with the devastating effect it had on his tight clothing. Unless he usually stripped off first …I really hoped I'd find the phone in the tattered pockets at his knees to save myself having to feel around inside the other numerous pockets he seemed to have in his bizarre, one-of-a-kind leather pants.

Stepping up to him, I tried to keep myself from even breathing so he wouldn't wake. I didn't dare open the rum again, knowing he would probably smell it even in his near-comatose state of sleep and wake up to maul me. Suddenly, the thought that he _could _maul me didn't seem so bizarre, having seen him in… animal form, for a lack of a better way to put it. I patted down the pockets around his knees lightly, feeling for something remotely solid and phone like. If I recalled correctly, it was about the size and shape of Tseng's, so much smaller than the chunky PHS I carried around but a little too… pathetic for my taste. I was happy with my outdated brick-like technology.

I found nothing.

I allowed myself a quiet scowl, knowing that it probably wouldn't wake him if my hands on his knees hadn't. He had to have the phone on him somewhere… I noticed he even still had Cerberus strapped to his side during his slumber. It was a strong reminder that he could probably kill me without even opening his eyes, his lightning reflexes too fast even for me. I shivered slightly at the thought and repeated my soft patting motion on the pockets at his hips. Of course they had to come up empty too, didn't they? There were only three more pockets that I'd ever taken notice off – not that I had taken notice; one on his chest, and two on the back of his pants. Well, it was pretty obvious the flat pocket on his chest wasn't hiding his cell, which put me in a great position. Not only did I have to turn him over without waking him, I had to retrieve the phone from his back pocket. He was going to wake up and think me a complete creep… why did I talk myself into this?

Because of the chopper, I reminded myself. My baby was in trouble somewhere and I had no other way of contacting the only person I knew who might have information. Sucking it up, I slid a hand gently under his arm and tried to roll him onto his side so I could at least check for phone-shaped lumps in his back pocket before I went groping around. At least he wasn't a total deadweight like Cloud had been when he was asleep…

Not that I was thinking about that.

Surprisingly, once I had Vincent on his side, he grunted and rolled right over onto his face. At first I jumped back, freezing where I landed, thinking I had woken him, but once I heard him groaning in his sleep and rubbing his face in the pillow, I had to laugh. He was surprisingly human still, despite the beast I'd seen inside of him. It shouldn't have surprised me so much, seeing as I probably knew as much as anyone about how human he could be despite his strange quirks, but it did. I'd starting thinking of Vincent as a demon unwillingly, and I really had to stop. He was still my friend – at least, part of me hoped he still was. I'd have to have a proper chat with him when he finally woke up.

I retrieved the phone without any more trouble – it all but slipped into my hand once I'd pulled up the red cloak that trailed behind his every movement and unbuckled the pocket. Grinning triumphantly at the slumbering man, I actually had to restrain myself from patting his hair gently to thank him for being such a good sport. Now I could go get pissed and make the phone call I really didn't want to make.

I made my way back to the lounge, walking inside and turning on the lights without thinking – I'd forgotten _again_ about the men Tseng had in there. To my amusement, they were chained back to back in one corner of the room, one of them passed out still, his head lolling back on the shoulder of the other man. The second assassin was awake now, staring at me with an expression I couldn't decipher. There was fury and hatred in there, and I definitely detected a hint of pain which was a given seeing as the Galian Beast had chewed him half to death and spat him out into the forest – but what was that? Fear? I actually laughed. Two deadly assassins, coming to make an attempt on the presidents life at his not-so-secret hideout, only to be scared shitless when we set a savage, unholy creature on them and took them hostage instead. Nothing I hadn't heard before. The essential elements may have changed – how we instilled the fear, where we had them hostage – but the story was the same. It made me wonder why anyone even tried to hurt us anymore. Save the hostages, I think I'd managed to have the same effect on the terrorists at the construction site earlier. Twice in one day, that was something I hadn't seen in a long time – not since the early days of Avalanche and their pseudo-immortal army.

Although I was sorely tempted to throw myself down on the couch right in front of them to drink and make my phone call, I knew it probably wasn't a good idea to get in anymore shit with the boss today. Even if we were planning to off these two sometime in the near future, we couldn't risk them knowing anything just in case. I rolled my eyes at the thought and made my way out of the lounge again, pulling the door closed quietly. The kitchen would have to do.

After making myself comfortable with a glass of ice for my rum and a couple of chairs to put my legs up on, I flipped open the phone and quickly navigated my way to the address book. He didn't have many contacts down – The Avalanche gang all seemed to be there, a couple of Wutain names, Paragon, Reeve, Shelke, that little Wutanese bar we'd found him at and …Tseng. I was pretty much expecting it, seeing as I knew he was on there under speed dial 2, but it still surprised me a little to see his name flash up onto the screen. I wasn't going to question it… now. I'd get the truth out about those two as soon as I could.

Too curious for my own good and wondering who was on speed dial 1, I tried it. An unfamiliar Wutain name popped up on the screen and I cancelled the call quickly, wondering who this person could be to Vincent. Perhaps family? But he'd been in stasis for so long, not to mention the fact he'd once been a Turk. He probably didn't have any family left. Friends didn't really seem like Vincent's thing, either. I tried speed dial 3 instead to distract myself. It was Cloud. Go figure.

Holding the phone up to my ear, I took a gulp from my glass for confidence and listened to the slow ringing tone. For all I knew, Cloud wouldn't even pick up. He'd been known not to, many times in the past.

But the ringing stopped, and the device beeped, and Cloud's dull voice spoke up from the other end of the line. "Vincent."

He almost sounded like he was expecting the call. I raised an eyebrow and took another drink. "Nah, it's Reno." I said casually. Cloud's voice took on a sudden edge.

"Where's Vincent? Is he alright?"

I considered the question. Could be, I guess. Tseng seemed to think he'd be fine. "Sleepin'. I think he tired himself out being dog-boy or somethin."

"Dog-boy?" Cloud sounded skeptic. Well, I thought it was a pretty accurate description.

"Limit break?" I offered by way of an explanation. "Least Tseng said so. Listen, Cloud, I need ta ask-"

"What do you mean? The Galian Beast?" Cloud interrupted. I frowned at the phone. "What did you do to him Reno? I swear, if ShinRa has hurt him…"

"You'll what?" I scoffed. "We ain't done shit. Some bastards launched an attack on Healin and Tseng sent him after them. He chewed them ta bits. Cloud-"

"Tseng '_sent_' him after them?" The blonde interrupted again. I was getting irritated now. I didn't go to all the effort of pinching Vincent's phone so I could have a girly chat with my worst enemy. Because, that was essentially what this was, to men like us, at least. "Whatever. I'm assuming Rufus hasn't killed you yet, then."

"_Listen_, Spikey!" I snapped, slamming the glass in my hand down on the table in frustration. "I called you fer a reason, alright? Jus' shut up fer one second."

I think I heard a mumbled "don't call me that" and I was about to retaliate that I could call him whatever I liked, but bit my tongue instead. Yeah, I'd not call him that from now on.

"Whatever. Look, when ya found me dead…"

"I already told you, I don't know any more, Reno." I'd just about had enough of his interruptions. I snarled down the phone and fought the temptation to snap it shut and hurl it across the room.

"I _know_ that! Jus' was _wondering_ if ya saw my chopper… or what happened to Tseng's bike, while I'm askin'."

"Oh."

"Yeah, fuckin' oh." I scowled. What was with him? He seemed to have come to some sort of agreement inside his head that he could treat me however the fuck he wanted now. Not that he didn't before, but at least back then, back… before last night he would fucking shut up on the phone for two seconds and listen.

"Sorry Reno. I saw nothing of your helicopter."

"Yer serious?" I sighed, dropping my face into the palm of my free hand. I propped the phone on my shoulder and reached for the rum again. "What 'bout Tseng's bike?"

"That belongs to your boss? You've made a right mess of it." I almost thought for a second that I heard the blonde snicker at the other end of the line.

"Fuck you." I muttered harshly, draining my glass. "How bad is it?"

"It'll be fine. I've taken it down to the garage with mine and I'll have it fixed up soon enough."

I frowned slightly, unsure what to say. That was pretty nice of him, however much we fought… "Ya… don' have ta do that, y'know." I told him quietly.

"It's fine, Reno. I enjoy working on bikes."

"…Thanks, Cloud."

We spoke for another minute or so – it was almost comfortable, actually, talking to him over the phone. Not awkward because I didn't have to look at him and we weren't physically near enough to try and kill each other. He asked me if I was okay, how much shit I was in and that – I made the situation sound better than it was, I'm not really sure why; I guess I just didn't feel like getting all emotional over the phone to Cloud or running up a massive bill for Vincent. I told him Rufus wanted extra security – a simple enough lie – and that I was on the job because I'd been breaking the rules. I suppose, the whole having to bunk with Rufus thing probably didn't sound so bad to an outsider anyway. It was probably just me.

"Cool. I'm gonna… hang up now, anyway." I said with a frown. "Thanks fer fixing the bike fer me."

"It's fine, Reno." Cloud repeated and I could almost hear a smile in his voice now. It creeped me out. Talking on the phone with me shouldn't make anyone happy. "I'll phone in if there's any news of the helicopter."

"Yer. Oh, and… Cloud?" He grunted slightly in response. "'Bout this Galian Beast or whatever. There anything I can do fer Vincent? He's in a pretty bad shape…"

The blonde chuckled at the other end of the line. "You actually care? Never thought I'd see the day. No, nothing, just make sure he isn't woken up before he's ready. You're all gonna regret it."

He hung up then and when I put the phone down, my face was twisted in a scowl. I was fucking fed up of people being surprised that I cared about anything! I was human, after all. There's loadsa shit I cared about.

Like Vincent, for example. I was really hoping Cloud could have given me a better answer than that about how to deal with him. Maybe I would have been fine with letting him sleep for days, if he needed to… if Tseng hadn't had me dump him in my bedroom. Kinda needed that.

I wondered what Cloud could have meant by 'you're all gonna regret it' though. It couldn't be so bad – obviously he was speaking from experience and he wasn't dead, or anything. Well, at least not currently. I'd learned just today that the whole life/death thing didn't seem to matter for shit. _I'd _been dead. I wasn't gonna get over that. Fucking weird.

At least I was even more grateful now that I hadn't woken Vincent up when I'd stolen his phone. I'd been beat up, knocked over, shot and mauled too many times today. It was late, too. Fuck drinking the rest of the rum; I'm sure I could sleep now it had numbed the pain in my leg. Standing up slowly, I took a few careful steps across the kitchen and found I really could walk just fine now. Tseng had said to clean up the wounds but fuck it, that could wait til after I'd got a couple of hours sleep. I shoved the rum into the back of one of our cupboards. I'd got a considerate way down it already and it was beginning to give me that nice warm feeling a good spirit does when it settles in your stomach. At least it hadn't killed me yet – I wasn't going to make a habit of drinking bottles I found in miscellaneous cardboard boxes in abandoned buildings though, just in case. The cupboards were all almost empty now – between the others having been away so long so Elena couldn't order in a few months supplies of food and Vincent being here to actually use what ingredients we had left to cook with instead of just grabbing a frozen meal from the cooler there wasn't really anything substantial in the lodge at all.

I picked up Vincent's phone, wondering what the hell to do with it. I couldn't leave it in the kitchen, obviously, and I really didn't want to have to explain why I had it when he finally did wake up, or go to the trouble or trying to put it in his back pocket again now Cloud had warned me about waking him early… and there was also the issue of where I was gonna sleep tonight. I figured Rude's room was the best bet. I didn't feel much like sleeping on the couch with those two tied up in the lounge. It's pretty hard to sleep with two angry pairs of eyes watching you.

I left Vincent's phone on mattress beside him. It seemed like the best bet, because he wouldn't know that it hadn't just fallen out of his pocket. Apart from the fact his pocket was unbuckled but… his pants were so fucking ruined anyway, I could blame that. I was out the door in a second, pulling it shut quietly behind me so he wouldn't stir. Not that I expected him to, because I'd freaking rolled him face down and he hadn't done much more than nuzzle the pillow like a sleepy child.

Rude's bed was freaking bliss. I didn't even begin to notice _just _how exhausted I was until I was lying down; I almost didn't have the energy to strip down, but I forced myself to anyway. I doubt Rude would have appreciated my stinky, dusty, bloody pants in his sheets and I hated sleeping in my shirt unless I had to or was too drunk to notice. It's so constricting.

I lay down and my last thought as I was closing my eyes was fuck, it was finally over. My day from hell was finally fucking over. I grinned to myself, feeling the pull of a deep sleep washing over me.

The sound almost didn't register at first, but it was inevitable. My eyes shot open as soon as I realized what it was, and I was out of the bed before my head had even caught up and at the bedroom door. For _fucks_ sake, what could possibly be going wrong now? I just wanted to sleep for crying out loud!

But the scream was coming from Rufus' room. I slid down the hallway in my bare feet, catching the door to the presidents bedroom and throwing it open before I'd even stopped moving.

"Sir?" I called into the darkness, hand slamming at the wall, feeling for the light switch. I caught it, clicking it on and freezing on the spot. There was blood.

Oh, shit. There was blood in his hair, and on his bed sheets, and his fingers were clawing at the skin of his chest like something was trying to break out of it. The worst part was that his eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling like it was some massive fucking beast, ready to feast on him. I was only staring, still on the spot, for a split second before I was at his side but the image of him laying there was burning into my head.

"Rufus!" I grabbed his wrists, prying his hands away from his chest with the kind of strength you only have when you're panicking. Because he was fucking strong when he was resisting – when did he get so strong? I climbed up onto the bed, wrestling his arms down to his sides and kneeling on each of them so I could free my hands up to stop the bleeding. I called his name again, although I really doubted he could hear me. He was no more responsive than the last time I'd seen him have a stigmatalime breakdown, which was all I could pin this too. What else could it fucking be? It was hardly a nightmare.

I stripped the pillowcase from the pillow beside him and wadded it against his head. Tseng was at my side, but I was concentrating too hard to pay much attention to him. He must have heard the scream too.

"Where's he bleeding, Reno?" Tseng asked, his usually calm voice cracking with panic.

"Dunno. Head I think. This has happened before?" I lifted the pillowcase to get a better look at the blood. It seemed to be coming from up into his hairline.

"Never." Tseng told me quickly, tearing apart some of the other sheets and dabbing at the scratches on his chest.

"Check his meds. Check to see if he's taken them!" I demanded, although he was probably already on it, as Rufus started to thrash to try and free his arms and clawing at my thighs in the process.

Tseng nodded. I caught the action in my peripheral vision, although I didn't pay much attention. "I'm on it." He said, and was gone from my side. Rufus' breathing sped up, and he went limp under me, swallowing slowly and closing his eyes like he was in pain. Which he had to be, really. His lips moved in speech, but not sound came out.

"Come on sir," I said through gritted teeth, wiping at the blood again. It wasn't dripping anymore. "I can't hear ya if ya don' make a sound!"

Whatever the fuck had been bleeding seemed to have stopped and the wound seemed to have closed up already. It was seriously disconcerting. Whatever this fucking disease was, it was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen. I threw the bloody pillowcase aside, wiping Rufus' hair back out of his eyes with one hand. Fuck, his skin was hot.

Now he'd calmed the fuck down, I finally noticed how compromising my position was, especially in my underwear. I bet this looked great to Tseng. I snickered slightly, and wondered what the hell I was supposed to do now. I couldn't move because I didn't trust him not to start attacking himself again.

He tried to speak again, opening his eyes slightly and almost focusing on me. Or, on the ceiling above me. I couldn't tell.

Tseng was at my side again, holding the pillbox. "He's taken them." He said in a calmer voice, seeing that Rufus was still. "I have honestly no idea what's happening to him, Reno."

I frowned. Well, that made two of us. "He's breaking a fever." I said in reply. "Can ya get a cold cloth? I don' wanna move in case he starts thrashing again."

"Of course." Tseng replied, and was gone again. Rufus was still writhing slightly. He had to be both delirious and hallucinating from the fever or he was freaking possessed. But the blood? It had to be something to do with this disease no one except Cloud seemed to know anything about. It looked like the aftermath of a bloody experiment that'd gone wrong. It was horrific.

Slowly he stopped moving altogether and closed his eyes. His breathing calmed and slowed to short sharp breaths that were far from healthy but much better than before. I relaxed, releasing my grip on him and sitting back between his legs so I wasn't straddling or crushing him. Poor fucking bastard. I couldn't imagine what it was like, being that sick. When I was a child, back before Rufus' father started to give up on the condition his city was in entirely, my mother and I used to get benefits. She'd get a small amount of gil a week for being a single parent, and an unemployment benefit. It was far from enough for two people to live on but it was supposed to encourage people to clean themselves up and get a real job, turn their lives around. That way, the slums would clean themselves up and the city would return to its original, glorious state; or at least he saw it that way. The old President always did like to control everything with money. However, my mother did get one other weekly payment, which was a health benefit, because I was ill. I was never _really_ ill, but up until the age of about 7 or 8 I truly believed I was, because she told me I was. The extra money wasn't the only benefit for her – she wouldn't have to do anything for me either, like send me to school, or take me out, or teach me to swim. She could just leave me in bed for days, tell me I needed bed rest if I ever wanted to get better, and that the reason there was no food for me that week was because it would make me throw up. It was a brilliant, although horrendous, plan on her part. I was a kid, gullible to anything my precious mother said, and so I believed her. The other benefit was, of course, the pills. Prescription medication, for free. No doctor would check me over without charging but that didn't stop the benefit scheme from providing medication for whatever condition was declared. I'd go with her to get the medicine and she'd cover my face with her make up, and tell me it would make me look a little healthier when really she was trying to make me look like death. Then she'd tell me she'd mashed the pills into my food, put them in my drink, given them to me when I was sleeping. I'd believe her, leaving her to pop them whenever she felt like it. Makodine, the drug, was still in it's early stages of manufacture back then, and people would die from even the smallest doses. She had other ways to get high.

Makodine would have been the reason why the benefit scheme fell apart, too. No one would ever use their money to improve their lives. They'd use it to shoot up, and forget their troubles altogether. It had the same effect as turning over a new leaf, but didn't require any of the effort.

When I realized I wasn't sick, I left. I was bold enough to tell her what I thought of her, and she told me if I didn't like it, I could get out. So I did, and by the time I got back, she was dead. But that's another story, for another time… since I realized she was lying, I've never really known 'illness'. I've always been healthy, even when people around me are contagious. I guess it's compensation for being made to believe all that shit.

But anyway, back to Rufus. I started dozing slightly as I relaxed, against my will; I was so exhausted that I drifted off to sleep right there beside him.


End file.
